Rise of the Dragons: The new Riders
by SirialBlack
Summary: 20 years after Galbatorix's fall, Eragon has created a place for dragon riders to train. Every year the eggs will travel to every living corner of Alagaesia to discover the new riders. The eggs have arrived in a village near the Spine for the Brasungr festival to begin but peculiar attacks continue to plague the lands of Alagaesia and nothing appears to be safe.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I don't own anything in this work apart from my OCs. The world of Alagaesia was created by Christopher Paolini and thus has inspired me to write this. Thanks for reading and please don't copy :)**

**Prologue**

Eragon stood at the edge of the mountain, the wind blowing on his face and numbing his cheeks, staring down at the waves from the sea as they crushed loudly on the steep rocks.

_I don't know If I will be able to do it…_ , he said as Saphira shot from the water's surface and flew towards him, making the nearby seagulls disappear.

Her scales glittered, a beautiful silver blue turquoise colour, as the rays of the sun fell on her skin. She shook whatever droplets of sea water remained and settled down at the top of the mountain, next to Eragon.

One large blue eye looked at Eragon seriously.

_Young one, we have faced harder challenges than this. This will be child play's to us_, she replied to him and reassured him, showing how much confidence and faith she had in him.

_More elves should have been here. They know magic better than I_, he replied in her mind, still thoughtful.

_Yes, they might know some more intricate spells, I do not doubt, but they were not chosen to be dragon riders_, she said as she fell on the ground, making it shake momentarily and extended her wings until the sun rays fell on every inch of her body.

The rocks next to Eragon shook from the impact but he was not afraid. He was looking at Saphira, her size, beauty and grace and was astounded.

Saphira read his thoughts and a great satisfaction enveloped her.

Eragon chuckled and playfully threw a rock at her direction. She dodged it with her eyes closed and her back on the ground.

_You are ready Eragon. We are ready and the eggs need to hatch._

**A/N: Upon rereading the first two chapters that I wrote (the next two) I realized that they were more of an introduction so you might find it less interesting. You could always start reading from the 3rd chapter (The Festival Begins) and if you like the story go back and read the intro. I promise, story gets better as the chapters progress :)! Thanks for reading.**


	2. Tristan and Kayla

**Tristan and Kayla**

**20 years later**

"Will you leave me alone?" she shouted angrily and slid her hand out of her brother's tight embrace.

"Come on, Kayla, don't be a baby. Fight me as if you were Galbatorix and I Eragon" her brother Tristan shouted and hit her with a wooden sword.

Kayla recoiled in time and slid from the bed's edge to pick up her wooden sword, her eyes turning into slits as she watched her older brother dancing around like an enchanted troll.

"Saphira, my beautiful dragon come rescue me so we can kill Galbatorix!"Tristan bellowed and jumped on top of Daisy, their 4 year old goat.

Daisy let out a beh sound and continued chewing on some grass. Kayla raised an eyebrow at that and nudged her brother slightly with her wooden sword.

Tristan lost his balance and fell from the goat, hitting his head on the wooden floor of the house.

"Ouch" her brother said and rubbed his head with his palm. "You didn't need to do this" he said, annoyed and moved away from her reach.

Kayla put her hands on her waist angrily.

"Look, I have told you before I am not interested. I don't like fighting and I don't like dragons" she said and her long blonde hair flew to the right hand side. She picked up the book she had been reading, a beautiful book telling the stories of the princess Alison and her betrothed prince Elijah as they went on adventures and killed the dragons. She had been on a very interesting chapter, where prince Elijah had just slain another dragon, saving Alison's life and he was about to kiss her, just as her sixteen old year brother had decided that suddenly she had turned into Galbatorix.

"You are just weird. Everyone likes dragons" Tristan said and happily picked out a book which told the stories of the old days as dragons had come to be. His blonde hair, the same colour as hers was falling in his eyes.

"Tristan, you need a haircut. We cant go to the town center like this. How will an egg hatch for you if you are looking like an outlaw?" their mother said as she walked into the room and stopped frozen as she noticed Daisy pooping at the corner of the room.

"What is the goat doing inside the house?" their mother said in a very unsteady tone of voice, just as Daisy behd happily unaware of what was happening.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me, I have no idea"

"Liar", Kayla said as she held her book closer to her chest. "Tristan decided that Daisy was a dragon so he brought her in the house and then started attacking me with a wooden sword" she said in a dramatic voice.

Their mother, who was tall, blond and slender said nothing and pushed Daisy out of the room. When she came back inside the wrinkles on her forehead were more pronounced.

"I have told you before, that the goats are not allowed in the house. And Tristan how many times have I told you not to attack your little sister?"

"We were play fighting that's all. Once I get my own egg I will go to Brasungr to train with Eragon and other dragon riders and I won't need Kayla for that but for now she is the closest I can get to training", he said smiling happily. What Tristan didn't add was that often he and his friends would go out in the woods with real swords and fight a lot more fiercely, as Kayla had witnessed.

Their mother sighed and cleaned the corner where Daisy had just relieved herself.

"Look I even have a bruise" Kayla said lifting her elbow with a bruise that she had acquired yesterday afternoon when she had knocked herself on the door.

"Ha! You do? I have an even bigger bruise from where you hit me" Tristan said and picked up his shirt to show a bruise that was spreading just under his rib cage.

And there Kayla thought that she had only nudged him.

"It was self-defence" she proclaimed and pulled her tongue out to him. Tristan pulled his shirt down but looked angry.

Lately he looked angry very often. Their mother had said that he was in that growing phase that all boys went through where their body was changing but their mind hadn't really caught up to that.

And indeed Tristan was changing. He was taller than their mother, easily reaching at 6 foot, his shoulders looked broader than a few months ago and his muscles were more pronounced. Kayla remembered how he had looked like, only a year ago, when he still had that tummy flab and his cheeks had been rounder.

Kayla on the other hand, even though she was fifteen years of age had not acquired any womanly characteristics. She was shorter than her brother, maybe by a head, but she was still tall for a girl. She had long skinny arms and long skinny legs. The girls in her village who were the same age as her if not younger had plumper chests and rounder hips. Kayla often found herself being jealous of them or of the characters she read in her stories, because the princesses there were more womanly and beautiful. She still looked like a child.

She sighed annoyed and let the book fall of her lap to the ground. Tristan was still fighting imaginary enemies while their mother had just finished cleaning and had proceeded to prepare the evening meal. She was humming to herself in the kitchen while she plunged the feathers from a chicken but she looked tired. There were dark shadows under her eyes and Kayla had to wonder how she managed to do everything by herself.

Their father had died when she was young, in a hunting accident near the Spine, leaving their mother to care for both of them as they grew up. Until the age of 10 Kayla had never bothered to wonder where the food they ate came from or how she was able to get new clothes. She only knew that their mother had bought them for her.

A year after she started helping out in the library, sorting out the books in a correct manner, making sure all rented books were returned to their shelves and that the library got a minimum wage out of it. Renting a book was not expensive so many people often rented more than one. She and her brother Tristan had been the children that had loved spending their time in the library or with their noses into the books that they brought back to their house.

When Tristan was 11 he had decided to work for a smith in the village. He was getting a minimum wage out of that as well but combined with her small earnings from the wealthy people who often gave her tips for her service and the wage their mother got from working in the sewing machines it was enough for them to have a happy, content life.

However their mother looked extremely tired now and Kayla had to wonder if there was anything else she and her brother could do to help. She hoped that the two days of rest they got for the Brasungr festival would be enough to relieve the pressure from her mother's shoulders.

…...

Tristan threw the wooden sword in the air and caught it immediately. He looked at the sun outside of his window as it was going down and looked forward to when he would meet his friends to train.

The Brasungr festival was only two days, two days of rest for most and two days for children and adults alike to touch the dragon egg's surface and see whether the egg would hatch or not. It was the forth year that Tristan had been allowed to participate in the ceremony as the years before he had been too young and the elves were very particular about the age limits. He remembered in the beginning when the leaders of all races and Eragon had spent many days on deciding the appropriate age of training. They had concluded that 13 years of age were enough as each child had started entering adulthood. The limiting age had been another issue and once again they had decided that 25 was a good enough age as well but older individuals could participate if they so wished.

Elves would carry 10 eggs every year across each town, each village and each corner of Alagaesia where life existed, whether that life was Urgal, dwarf, human or elf.

When the elves arrived at the town, city, periphery or village, the inhabitants had to pause their daily activities for two days, and the empire would provide food supplies and the sort. The poor would feast on meat and the rich would take a break from their tiring jobs. Caravans and Magicians followed the elves and always put on a good show. People had been scared of dragons for long enough and this was the time to remember that dragons were not like Shruikan and to celebrate the peace.

Tristan could not wait. Tomorrow, the first of the two days would begin, and the elves would arrive. He had been given a break from helping the village's smith and he knew all too well what he would use his time for.

"I am going hunting with the guys" he said loud enough so that his mother and sister could hear. Kayla had her nose inside the book she was reading again so he didn't know if she had paid attention.

Their mother however turned to look at him with an expression of worry.

"Don't go too near to the Spine" she warned and Tristan nodded. He could already feel the adrenaline pumping inside his body, demanding it to move, to fight, to train. But he was not stupid or careless enough to go near the Spine.

Even though it was said that Eragon had killed the last of the Lethrblaka, people in Arhan were still afraid of the mountains as peculiar accidents kept happening and the land was not all clear of dangerous creatures.

He kissed his mother on the cheek as he went to exit and only then did a particular memory enter his mind, making him momentarily dazed.

_His father had his dark brown hair down, the beard reaching his chest as he put arrows behind his back and held the bow tightly. He was wearing a furry coat and put the hood on top of his head as the wind blew loudly outside of their house._

"_I am going hunting with Belor and Orrik. Belor found the trails of a deer yesterday and we think it is still near the forest since the weather has been quite bad for it to move. Hopefully we will have a nice venison stew, like the one your mother makes" his father said and grinned running his large, calloused hand through Tristan's hair. _

_Tristan stared at the towering figure of his father, who looked so strong and invincible. _

"_Daddy, daddy will u get me flowers?" a young Kayla asked. She had her hair short and her face was round, her cheeks pink from the heat of the fire crackling in the fireplace._

"_Now, now, you know that daddy is only going hunting for a short while…" a younger, less tired version of his mother said but Kayla crossed her hands over her chest and pouted._

"_But I want the pretty blue flowers"_

_Their father let out a loud laugh that made the tables and chairs vibrate. _

"_I am sure I will be able to find something. Tristan, take care of the girls for me while I am away and next time you better be ready because I am taking you with me" his father promised. Young Tristan had been begging him for days to take him to a hunting trip but the excuse was always the same. He was too young. _

"_Don't go too near to the spine" their mother whispered and held his father tightly for a moment longer._

_His father let out another deep laugh and bent down to kiss their mother on her cheek._

_He exited the door, smiling and holding tightly the bow he had made by himself from oak wood._

The same bow that Tristan now held tightly into his own grip as he went into the forest.


	3. Hunting Trip

**Hunting Trip**

Tristan looked at his target and let the arrow fly from his fingers, hitting the red spot just beneath the branch of the tree, sinking deep inside the plant's bark.

He felt pride swelling inside him and walked to take the arrow out of the target. However he was distracted and he did not notice the swift movement of another being. It attacked him from behind and Tristan felt the full force of the being's weight. He crashed to the ground, the air rushing out of his lungs as he strained to turn around and get the being off of him.

"You are a good shot but you still need to work on your reflexes" Grion said and smiled as he went to help Tristan up. Grion was older than him by a year and the son of the village's head protector so he had always been trained by the best around. He had been more than willing to train and help alongside Tristan and Buster.

Tristan returned the smile but he did not hesitate to take the advantage and as he was being pulled up, he kicked his friend's knees. Grion fell on the ground, making a big thump and swore. Tristan smiled back to him, holding his bow up.

"So do you" he replied and then threw his bow to the side and fell on his friend with full force. Grion struggled and kicked him just below the ribcage, once. Tristan released his hold on Grion's head and his friend got the chance to free his legs which were now dangling around with no control. Tristan threw a punch at Grion's shoulder and his friend flinched. They continued fighting like this for a while, trying to gain control over one another but soon enough it was clear that it was a draw.

When Buster came to find them they were both breathing out hard and loud and had their backs against the wet forest ground.

"I don't think our plan is working" Buster said miserably and slammed to the ground next to them. Buster was the youngest of the three, only 14 and this would be his first year in the Brasungr ceremony.

"When you say plan… Which one of them are you referring to?" Tristan asked, curious, as Grion shot up to his elbows.

Buster exhaled angrily and pointed at Daisy, the goat. She was standing only a few meters away from them and she was concentrating on tearing the roots of a certain weed with her strong jaws.

Grion smiled and Tristan chuckled as Buster shot them murderous glances.

"Haha. Very funny. Wrapping the goat in bacon pieces and taking her out in the woods to attract bears and the short, in order to practise shooting, was not a good idea. I have been watching her for all this time while you guys have been doing actual training and nothing has appeared!" Buster shouted and Daisy raised her ears just as a piece of bacon fell from her shoulders.

A bird dived from the sky just then and picked up the piece of bacon and quickly flew away to a nearby tree to chew on the meat happily.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "I believe a bird is an ideal target in order for you to perfect your…" he started but Buster's murderous glances stopped him mid-sentence. He smiled politely.

Grion chuckled in the corner. "You call this training? This was a mere play-fight. Tristan needs a lot more to catch up with me. As for the goat thing, it was not my idea"

Tristan decided to ignore the comments about his training. He knew just as well as Grion, that their wrestle had not just been a play-fight.

He shot his hands in the air and grinned apologetically. "I know I am full of good ideas, aren't I? Speaking of which… Daisy come here, my lovely goaty…" he said and went to remove the bacon pieces from the goat and grabbed from his leather pouch some pieces of string and another object.

"His relationship with the goat is beginning to worry me" commented Grion as he watched carefully what Tristan was doing.

"I think it's reaching a point where some would consider it unhealthy" continued Buster and gave a hand to help Grion up.

Tristan, hearing their comments snorted loudly.

"Nonsense! Daisy has been nothing but helpful" he said as he put the goat into place and picked up his bow. He walked back quite a few steps, his feet sliding across the wet grass as his two friends watched him cautiously once more.

"You guys want proper training? Then watch this" he said as he let out an arrow that hovered across in a straight line and cut the apple that had been placed on top of daisy's head in half.

…..

Kayla was threading some flowers through a thin piece of string in order to make a necklace for tomorrow's celebrations. Even though she greatly disliked dragons she couldn't deny that she loved the ceremony that took place every year.

Many people would visit their town and make-shift table stands were set, where itinerant tradesmen would place their products. Even though the money they had was little, their mother had never denied them the chance to pick a treat.

Kayla remembered, last year, that they had bought a very intricate piece of stone that the tradesman swore, was carved from a diamond that Saphira had made. Her mother had thought it to be pretty but it was Tristan who insisted on buying it as he loved all things that were related to dragons.

The years before Kayla and her mother had tasted a new type of fruit that was orange, soft and gooey and tasted very much like caramel. The tradesman said he had brought it from the lands of Surda.

Her stomach rumbled at the thought and her gaze fell on the roast chicken that her mother was cooking near the fireplace. The juices fell from the chicken's skin, making the fire sizzle underneath and the meat had now began to caramelize, the outer part turning crispy and dark brown. Her mouth watered.

She looked at her mother who was standing near the window with a worried expression on her face as the dark had begun to settle. It was a late summer night and there was a faint breeze coming through the window openings.

Kayla saw her mother biting her lip, sighing once, twice, until she got up and went to check on the chicken.

Just then the door opened and Tristan entered with a huge grin fixed upon his face. Kayla saw her mother's shoulders relax as she greeted her son and went to get plates.

"Did the hunting go well?" Kayla asked her older brother and placed the necklace she had been making in a draw.

"I caught a bird" he replied and placed a small thing, the size of both her hands put together, on top of the table. Feathers flew at her direction and she coughed.

"And how did your special training go?" she asked in a smaller voice so that her mother wouldn't hear. Tristan grinned and made a sign that indicated he would tell her later.

Once the meal was served Tristan didn't pause to talk and stopped only to take short breaths of air in between as he gnawed on every chicken part he could get his hands on. Kayla on the other hand took a chicken leg and tentatively chewed her way until the bone while she regarded her brother with disgust.

Their mother had a few pieces of chicken and bread and then stopped and looked at her children happily. Kayla saw her mother's eyelids beginning to shut. She quickly snapped them open and looked at her children once again.

"Excited for tomorrow?" she asked, smiling. Tristan's mouth was full of food so the only thing he could do was nod while Kayla went on to talk about the different objects that would be present in the market and the sort of celebrations that had appeared last year. They talked a bit more about the number of eggs the elves would present to them this year and then their mother excused herself, heading to bed.

With their mother gone and nothing left but the chicken carcass, Tristan was free to speak his mind.

"It's my year Kayla, I can feel it!" he said and there was a glint in his eyes, made by the fire's light.

"You know, no eggs have ever hatched for someone in our village" Kayla said. She was the reasonable one whereas Tristan was the person who would jump straight into something without thinking about the possible consequences.

"Yes, but I have been training with Grion and Buster and my shot has improved greatly…" her brother continued looking lazily at the ceiling.

Kayla said nothing as she put the plates near the side and said goodnight to Tristan. Kayla was no fool and she did not read only princess tales. Before she had gotten her hands on them she had read every book there was in the library, including the ones about dragons. She had never liked their species, they were too big and ugly for her tastes. They were slithery reptiles that feasted on a thousand cows, if the legends were to be believed, hard to tame and breathed out fire.

But from what she had read and what she did know was that a dragon egg did not just hatch for anyone. Even though 10 eggs were sent each year across the land not even half of these, hatched. The students in Brasungr hardly added up to 40 even though the eggs had been going around for more than 15 years.

Kayla spread her blond hair around her pillow, like a fan and touched with her toes the edges of her bed. She had never really considered there was a possibility for her brother to be picked as a dragon rider, but what if he did? Would her mother be happy? Would her life continue to be the same?

Anxiously she turned around on her bed as these thoughts penetrated deeper into her unconsciousness. She hadn't appreciated the importance of having a brother. She did not have any close friends or even just people she hung out with, unlike her brother. Apart from her mother he was the closest she had in this world and in all her life she had disregarded him.

As the new sun was rising, a mark of the day's beginning, Kayla knew she was being selfish, but she wished with all her heart that Tristan would not be picked as a dragon rider.

**Eragoner since I can't figure out how to directly reply to your review I will post the answer to your questions here. Brasungr is a new word that I use to name the place where the new dragon riders will be trained. Eragon and Saphira are not the main characters but they appear quite often as they are the dragon rider trainers and I am thinking of writing chapters from their perspective as well. Thanks for your helpful comments and I will take your pointers on board!**


	4. The Festival Begins

**The Festival Begins**

Tristan woke up instantly when the first rays of light touched his face. He needed no other queue than this, and he put on a clean white shirt and a pair of leather leggings that he used for hunting but had now brushed clean from the dirt and sweat. On top he wore his leather boots that shone in the morning light and looked proudly at his outfit. He run a hand through his hair and realised that indeed it was too long.

Following his mother's advice, he headed to the water basin and splashed his face with cold water. He got his hunting knife out and started cutting long strands of hair. After he was finished he dipped his head inside the cold water for a few seconds before he came out, to take a deep breath of air, feeling renewed and energised.

_I am ready_, he thought to himself.

…

Tristan was waiting for his friends at the top of one of the tradesman buildings in the centre of the village. Below him, he could see the tents and make-shift tables that had been set up late last night to accommodate the vast number of elves, magicians, soldiers and traders from all around Alagaesia. He could already see a table sprawled with some sort of gems and jewels and he knew that this would make his sister and mother happy.

He continued watching as the leaders of the village came out to greet the dragon egg carriers and as the time passed more people started gathering around the square and the market. He heard light footsteps behind him and he turned around and threw a rock at the noise's direction.

Grion stumbled but didn't fall and Buster behind him crouched.

"Tskk .. You guys are late… But good dodge!" Tristan said as he looked at the sun above him. Midday was quickly approaching.

"It's not my fault" Buster said as he tried to disentangle himself from something which seemed to hung around his throat. Tristan went to examine it more closely.

"Is that a red string?" he asked and rose his eyebrows. Grion started laughing.

Buster sighed, annoyed.

"It's apparently the new fashion in the big cities and my mom insisted…" he said as Tristan tried to unknot the thick red string.

"It looks like what our goat wears, actually. It suits you" Tristan commented and Buster shot him murderous glances.

Tristan raised his hands in the air as he threw the red material on the ground.

"I am quite surprised you didn't bring Daisy here …" Grion said and chuckled. Tristan smiled just as his friends managed to settle on some space near him.

"I would have, but I decided to give her a break from all the dragon business. You know, the excitement and all would not be good for her health "he replied and laid down on his belly with his elbows propped up, to see what was going on down below.

They had picked this place because it offered the best view of the events that would occur in the Brasungr ceremony and they didn't want to miss even a single part.

More people were gathering around the square, excitement evident in their every movement. An array of wooden tables was set up in the middle of the square, where the eggs would be presented one by one to the people of Arhan. One of the elves was discussing something with one of Arhan's leaders, pointing at a big list in front of him, no doubt the list with the names that had to be called.

Slowly one by one each egg was laid on top of the tables inside a protective material. Tristan noticed that there were eggs of all colour and shape present, some bigger, some smaller. Legend had it, that whatever the colour of the egg was, the dragon being harboured inside would bear the same markings, complexion and shades.

Buster leaned at the edge of the roof to get a better view of the proceedings and noticed the representatives from each race, four of them that had formed a square around the remaining 8 eggs in a protective manner.

More soldiers had circled their periphery, their armours glinting in the morning sun as well as magicians who wore peculiar clothes and robes. Some of them had intricate designs around their faces and had their eyes closed, obviously concentrating on something.

"See the magicians on the right? They are creating wards to protect the eggs and trying to quickly skim the thoughts of everyone around to make sure we are not posing any danger to the eggs" Tristan commented, pointing to where the figures in the robes where.

"So they know everything I am thinking about?" Buster said, and his cheeks flushed.

"What exactly have you been thinking about?" Tristan asked and rose his eyebrows. Grion chuckled at the back.

"They won't read all your thoughts. There are too many of us to do that. They are only scanning in case they find any potential threats" Grion explained to the young boy.

Tristan looked through the mass of soldiers and magicians, trying to recognise any famous faces but Buster spotted one before he did.

"Is that Roran, Eragon's cousin?" he bellowed and almost lost his footing and fell from the rooftop. Tristan put a protective arm in front of him and looked at where his friend was pointing.

Indeed, just beside the tent, a tall figure stood, with shaggy brown curls and an untrimmed beard. The person could have been anyone but for the large hammer he carried strapped across his back.

"Not just Roran. He is Roran Stronghammer" Grion said and let out a big whistle. He continued to explain to Buster, Roran's feats during the Vardens' uprising against Galbatorix.

As impressive as seeing Roran was, Tristan still longed to see Eragon. In the last few years he had expected the dragon rider to be present but instead only his representatives were. He knew very well that Eragon could not be present in all places at the same time, despite his legendary abilities, and after the fall of Galbatorix the empire had needed him and the leaders of the races to complete many tasks, whether that was recruiting new riders, healing the sick, rebuilding the city structures or fighting off impending dangers.

He scanned the crowd in order to see if there was anyone else he recognised from the stories and legends but nothing. . .

Tristan sighed disappointed and went to study the elves as they had always fascinated them. There were three of them today, as they were brushing the eggs with theirs hands and cloths. Their limbs seemed to be moving quickly but their faces were expressionless. If he didn't know any better he would have guessed they were sleep walking or something. He could not understand how they looked so cold, so distant… Like statues carved from stone, looking both young and old, both wise and thoughtless. Their ears were pointed, their skin pale, their body lean. The elf representative and dragon rider that circled the eggs in the square, seemed a bit more earnest, if he could be described as that, almost more humanoid.

He shifted his attention to the dwarf dragon rider who had a hammer very similar to Roran's strapped across his back and broad shoulders almost the length of a regular height human. He was wearing a heavy armour and a thick dark red beard reached his knees.

The human dragon rider was a woman with dark brown, bushy hair and a serious expression fixed upon her face. She also had broad shoulders and she was dressed in heavy armour with a sword hanging on her shoulder that glittered whenever she moved.

Tristan went to examine the last of the circle but then Buster let out a shout.

"Is that an Urgal?" he bellowed pointing at the last dragon rider. Some of the people who had gathered in the square raised their heads up at their direction including the Urgal.

Grion shot Buster a silencing gaze but Tristan stood still. The Urgal gave them a few long looks, its horns protruding from just under his ears, his greyish skin a great contrast to his yellowish eyes. His head was clean shaved with no visible hairs and he was dressed in leather armour. Long, razor sharp nails protruded from his hands and even though legend had it that they had seven toes just like the dwarves the tall boots he wore gave Tristan no clear answer. The Urgal opened slightly his mouth showing the array of teeth he bore, sharp and long like his nails but whereas his nails curved on the inside like talons his teeth were pointy. He did not appear to be carrying any weapons compared to the other dragon riders but then again he did not need any. He easily stood at just under eight feet tall, the tallest of the crowd and the deadliest as well, Tristan did not doubt.

Once the people from below had stopped staring at them he turned to look at Buster.

"He is not just an Urgal but a Kull, the strongest and fastest of the Urgal" he explained.

Buster looked baffled by that.

"But I thought Urgals did not become dragon riders" he whispered, still staring at the towering figure in the town centre.

"Have you not been to any previous ceremonies? Have you not read any books?" Grion asked and crossed his hands over his chest.

Buster shook his head apologetically.

"This is my first year in the Brasungr ceremony. My mother did not allow me to come to it in previous years because she said it was dangerous" he said and sulked in the corner.

"Your mom ought to give you a bit more credit" Tristan said as he picked up the red string and smiled, throwing it at Buster's direction.

Buster dodged and then looked at the dragon riders again, slightly perplexed.

"But if the dragon riders are here then where are their dragons?" he asked.

Grion smiled secretly and started to say something but Tristan raised his hand in the air and shushed him.

The boys looked down at the small stage which had been set up in front of the eggs. Dead silence lingered and all the people in the square including the tradesmen and soldiers had their attention fixed on the stage. The sun was low in the horizon and it was casting dramatic shadows.

One of Arhan's leaders walked on the stage and cleared his voice, the noise echoing loudly around the silent village.

"For many years the races in Alagaesia had been under Galbatorix's reign. War plagued the lands and death and illness followed. Young men were taken from their families to join his army and many did not return. Galbatorix was a tyrant, a terrible and twisted man that had used ancient magic to bind a dragon to him when his previous one had died in an accident. Some of the races tried to resist, the elves, the dwarves and the Varden had formed alliances to stop his terrible rule but nothing worked"

The leader paused, to swallow, the noise once again loud.

"That was until one dragon egg was stolen from the tyrant and transferred by magic in the mountains known as the Spine. A young boy then, Eragon from the land of Carvahall, happened upon the egg and brought it back to his own home. This was the beginning of the end for Galbatorix as Eragon grew to be a dragon rider and with the help and unison of all races, the Elves, the Urgals, the dwarves and the Werecats he overthrew the tyrant and brought peace to this land. In the last twenty years the empire of Alagaesia has prospered like no other time, known by word or scroll. The races live in unison with each other and the riders protect land and water" he said and bowed down to let an elf walk to the stage with an air of dignity and grace.

"Before this ceremony begins I have to inform every one of you about the rules. Names will be called from the eldest to the youngest, from males to females. Every person will have the chance to touch the eggs twice, once today and once tomorrow to avoid the chances of mistakes being made and to put everyone's doubts at ease. Once a name is called you can either reject the offer or accept it and walk to the stage to touch the dragon eggs. You are only allowed to touch each egg once and then move to the next. You cannot linger more than a minute on each egg. If the eggs do not crack, you will leave the stage in the same manner you walked on it. You are not by any means allowed to damage the eggs and if weapons are found in you possession you will be restrained and questioned. Only one person is allowed to walk on the stage at a time and no family members or friends are to be included. Insults or cheers from the crowd are to be kept to a minimum, otherwise the people responsible will be removed" the elf finished in a very serious tone and walked down the stage, as elegantly as he had entered it.

Silence still lingered amongst the people, although there was the occasional cough or snort.

The dwarven dragon rider that Tristan had noticed before, walked onto the stage - his height not surpassing the humans even with the slight elevation -.

He cleared his throat, once, twice in a very loud manner and drums started playing in the background which made the hairs on Tristan's arm rise and he felt the vibration reach his chest.

The rider had a deep, baronet tone and with this he began to sing:

"_15 __dragon eggs are left _

_only one rider will be elect _

_10 are transferred every year _

_Young riders do not fear _

_Participation is always dear_

_Let the fires burn,_

_Let the winds descend,_

_Hear the mighty growl, _

_More than just a man,_

_Brasungr festival has begun!"_

As the dwarf finished the song, the vibrations increased instead of decreasing and large shadows overcast the crowd. Tristan looked up just as a large talon missed his head by inches.

Buster let out a tiny whimper and Tristan watched astounded as four dragons flew above them, with their giant wings covering the light of the sun. The dragons did not make any sound but Tristan could feel the force of the wind as their wings rose up and down.

He felt the warmth before he saw it and the dragons let out jets of flames against each other that connected in the middle like a blazing sun, much more intense than the one in the background that was close to setting.

Everyone gazed, dazed until all too quickly the dragons stopped and flew away in opposite directions. The North, the South, the West and the East.

The drums started playing again, but in a less intense beat than before and another of Arhan's leaders stood at the stage with a huge scroll in his hand. As the elf had said before, the names were called from the eldest to the youngest, from males to females.

The first name was called and a man of forty years of age went to the stage to touch the eggs. Nothing happened and the next man was called and the next and the next.

Tristan watched patiently as everyone took their turns and he awaited his own. The sun had almost set when Grion's name was called and the boy quickly jumped from the building to walk to the stage. Tristan managed a "good luck" before his friend disappeared and he felt his palms sweat as his own turn was approaching.

After Grion a few more boys were called to the stage but as had happened with everyone else before him, the eggs did not crack. Tristan gave a quick peer to Buster as he stood, watching everyone before him, with a concentrated expression on his face.

Just then Tristan heard his own name, clear and loud and he felt his heart swell. He got up to walk to the stage but suddenly his knees felt weak. He angrily shook his head and mentally slapped himself which helped him proceed.

His footsteps felt loud against his ears as he walked on the stage.

His gaze fell upon the first egg, a dark brown, scaly thing. He put his hands on the egg's surface and waited but nothing happened and he went to the next one.

This egg was greyish brown, a bit larger than the rest of the eggs and when Tristan put his hands on top of it nothing happened.

He walked to the next one and the one after that, and then the next one and the one after but nothing was happening and he was beginning to despair until he reached the last two.

The first egg was a silvery purple and the second a silvery blue, roughly of the same size.

He placed his hand on the silvery purple and waited. In the beginning there was nothing but silence and then he felt the brush of a consciousness against his mind.

_Could it be?_

He waited, counting the seconds until he reached a minute and then released the egg. Its surface remained smooth and unbroken and Tristan was confused. Surely he had not imagined it…

"Last egg" an elf close to him whispered, the same one who had recited the rules and his gaze was fixed on Tristan.

Tristan swallowed and went to touch the last egg, his right hand slightly shaking as it rested on the surface. Again, there was a nudge of consciousness in his mind, he could not deny this and he almost jumped but his fingers remained on the egg.

The silvery blue egg seemed to be momentarily glowing, almost pulsing and he felt a train of thoughts in his mind, which were not his own.

"Time is up, young boy" the elf who spoke before said and Tristan reluctantly stepped away from the egg. He gazed at it, willing it to crack but nothing happened.

"You can try again tomorrow, if you feel you didn't have a fair chance" the elf said, almost kindly.

Tristan shook his head and walked away from the stage, feeling tears cloud his vision. He tried to separate the crowd in order to go through but they were stalling him and he was getting annoyed. Finally he got away from the market, the stage, the voices, the people and he started running. He felt moisture on his face but he did not care, he only kept running until he reached dark, tall trees and then continued running until his lungs felt like they were burning from the rush of the cold air. There he dropped to his knees and he started screaming from the anger, the pain, and the desperation. He heard other screams as well in the night, screams that did not match his own but he did not care to find out who's they were.

He continued screaming until his throat croaked and his eyes dried out and the moon bled.


	5. A Danger in the Dark

**A Danger in the Dark**

Kayla had been late.

It wasn't her fault entirely as her mother had been in a deep sleep until the early hours of the afternoon and she did not want to wake her up.

When her mother had gotten up eventually, the dark circles had almost disappeared from under her eyes and she looked re-energised and happy. Kayla did her mother's hair, making intricate designs and put the flower necklace she had made last night on top of it. She smiled, pleased with her handiwork, and then went on to wear a blue dress that matched her eyes and let her blonde hair loose.

It had been her mother who had soon realised they had to leave, if they wanted to be at the Brasungr ceremony in time to see Tristan. They had arrived just as the four dragons connected their fire in the middle of the square and the earth shook from the vibration the creatures were making while flapping their wings.

Kayla remembered her mother's mouth as it had turned into an O. The celebrations in years before had been nothing like this, yes, still magnificent but nothing of this scale. Even though the scaly creatures terrified Kayla she had to admit that this was a celebration they would not forget for the rest of the year.

Once the names started being called, she and her mother had tried to squeeze their way into the village square but it was teeming with people and it was hard to get close to the stage. Kayla did not mind since her name would be one of the last ones to be called. However, she was curious to see her brother walk on stage, even though he as well would have a long time to wait.

It was a summer night and the heat was clinging onto her skin like a mosquito clinging onto blood and she sighed angrily at the mass of people who swam around her, the odor from their sweat reaching her nostrils.

"Kayla, come here, look at his" her mother said taking her hand and bringing her closer to a make-shift table stand.

"See your loved ones for only a silver, have magic rocks that float only for two. Come to my lovely magic den" the man behind the table stand was saying to her, her mother and the people around them.

She noticed the table stand had golden goblets filled with water and rocks that floated just a few inches above the stand. There were also intricate wooden ornaments that had shapes of weird creatures the names of which Kayla did not know.

"I want to see Nasuada, the queen of the Varden!" someone from the back shouted. The man behind the magic objects, raised both his eyebrows. He had weird black markings along his arms and legs but she could not see his face properly as he was wearing a hood.

"I am only a small magician and the person you wish to see has wards around her mind which are tougher to break than the mountains in the Spine. Please choose people that you know and don't have protection spells around them" he replied, tapping his foot on the ground.

Someone shouted something else and the man went to say some words on top of one of the goblet and then images appeared. Kayla let out a small sound.

"What about this rock that floats? How does this work?" her mother asked the man after he had finished with the water goblet and held his silvers.

"You take the rock into your hand and you say the word_ Risa_. I have enchanted it so you don't need magic, only the word" he said and gave the rock to her mother. Kayla watched closely as her mother whispered the word and suddenly the rock flew some inches above her hand.

A bright smile formed on her mother's face and she clapped her hands like a child on its birthday.

"Kayla, look its flying! Do it as well" her mother said, excited and gave her the rock.

The rock was small and round, plain, nothing out of the ordinary but Kayla could feel something when she touched it. She held it in her hand and like her mother before her she whispered the word.

"_Risa_" she said but nothing happened to the rock. Her mother looked at it peculiarly.

"Why is the rock not flying?" her mother asked the man behind the table stand. He raised both his eyebrows and shook his head.

"_Risa_" Kayla repeated, feeling a tiny part of her brain come to life but nothing happened to the rock. She held the rock in her palm and showed it to the magician.

"I don't think it's working" she said to both the man and her mother. The man looked perplexed.

"Repeat the word. Unless I give you another rock…" he said and started searching the carefully placed rocks he had on the wooden stand.

"_Risa_" Kayla said, giving it one more try and concentrating so hard on the rock that she felt her temples burning.

She saw the rock wobbling on her hand and then it started flying, first a few inches and then higher and higher. Satisfaction coursed through her until she started feeling lightheaded, her feet unsteady on the ground, almost as if they had risen a few inches as well and she fell on the table stand hard, everything that was on it smashing to the ground.

"Kayla, are you okay?" her mother said, rushing to her side and gently touching her brow. Kayla nodded but then the magician came behind them and started shouting.

"You just destroyed all these objects! Do you know how long it took me to set everything up?" he bellowed and started picking the goblets and the rocks in his hands, trying to put them back in place. A small crowd of people had started gathering around them, watching the scene.

"I am sorry, we promise to help you" her mother said and went to help the man pick the objects but he pushed her back.

"No, just give me the money for the rock and go" he said, almost growling, pulling his hood up and muttering some unknown words.

Her mother nodded, taking two silvers out of her pockets and giving them to the magician while Kayla scowled.

"Mom, what are you doing? Don't give him the coins! It's his fault the rock didn't work properly" she whispered but her mother shushed her, helped her get up and then walked towards the stage.

"We still did cause some trouble for him" she explained to her daughter and smiled. "Now, show me the rock again"

Kayla hadn't realised she was still holding the rock and passed it to her mother. She expected her mother to start saying the word _Risa_ again and making the rock fly but she didn't.

Instead she looked straight ahead where some people were playing music with drums, rebecs and flutes and some of the villagers had set themselves the task of leading the dance around the square. She was surprised that even with all these events happening, the music playing, the people shouting and going about their business, she was still able to hear the calling of names.

That's why when Tristan's name was called, both her and her mother switched their full attention to the stage where the dragon eggs stood.

Kayla saw her brother jumping from a nearby rooftop and heading towards the stage with a quick pace. She could tell from his movements that he was anxious and she felt her mother's hand, grip onto hers.

"Do you think he will be picked as a dragon rider this year?" her mother asked and Kayla couldn't tell if she wanted her daughter's answer to be negative or positive.

They both watched, the air suddenly caught in their lungs. They watched as Tristan walked by the first 6 eggs and nothing happened and then they watched as Tristan seemed to pause in the last two.

Again, none of the eggs moved from their pedestal and Tristan walked of the stage in a quick pace. Kayla watched as her brother quickly parted the crowd of people and walked by them without looking back.

"Tristan!" her mother shouted but her brother did not hear and he kept going until he was lost from their sight.

Her mother still struggled to move in the vast sea of people and get closer to her son but Kayla shook her head.

"Give him some time" she said and suddenly she felt guilty for her thoughts last night. She shook her head trying to clear it, as her elbow throbbed from where she had fallen before. Her mother still looked worried but Kayla made a quick decision and pushed her towards the people who were dancing.

Kayla got a perplexed look from her as they were both drawn into the dancing cycle, with the rhythm slowly increasing and their dancing pace struggling to keep up. She didn't know how much time passed but she could tell that it was now fully dark and her mother was laughing. She almost forgot that the names were still being called so when she heard hers she was momentarily stunned.

"Kayla, daughter of Borosson, age 15 do you accept or decline?" the elf asked and Kayla left the dancing circle to stand forward.

The answer came easily to her as it had done so in the years before.

"I decline" she answered feeling a weight shift from her shoulders and she joined her mother for a few more dances. After that they strolled around the tents, gazing at some of the dragon riders, the elves and the rest of the make shift table stands, gazing for other interesting objects. She was careful, however, to stay at a safe distance this time as her mother was eyeing a particular flower that was glowing in the light.

She noticed that the calling of names had stopped and an airy silence persisted. Kayla could see the people moving but their movements were slow as if time had paused. She felt a shadow coming her way before she saw it and perplexed, she looked up.

A creature, the likes of which she had never seen before, was quickly descending towards the unaware crowd of people. She wanted to shout to them to run for cover but no voice was coming from her throat.

And as quickly as that feeling of time being paused had come, just as quickly it left.

The elves and the dragon riders were the first to notice the impending threat and they started moving fast, shouting orders to the solders just as a the creature let out a jet of dark liquid on top of some of the tents and the make-shift table stands.

People started screaming realizing what was happening and running around trying to cover themselves. The dark liquid that had fallen on the tents was smoking and some of it had fallen on one of the tradesmen who was screaming in pain.

"PROTECT THE EGGS!" the human dragon rider yelled as she stood before them with her sword raised while the figures in the dark robes had their eyes closed, their brows pulled together in concentration. The remaining dragon riders had also closed their eyes and soon Kayla saw a jet of flames. The elves went to gather the eggs but Kayla's attention shifted as she struggled to find her mother.

"MOM?!" she shouted as she looked at the place her mother had been standing at, only a few moments ago. Someone bumped into her with such force that she fell on the ground, face down. She tried to pull herself up, but a boot slammed into the back of her head. She felt dizzy, confused and when she managed to get on her knees she saw chaos.

Fires were burning all around her mixed with the dark liquid that only made the fire spread faster on the buildings and tents. A dragon was flying in the skies trying to attack the creature she had been before, but the creature took a right turn and dived towards her direction.

She would have screamed if she could but the creature was moving so fast that she didn't have the chance. Just as a gigantic, dark talon went to slice her face the Urgal Dragon Rider stood before her with a mace Kayla had not seen him carry and attacked the creature.

"Brising" be roared and fire came rushing from his palms just as a dragon descended from the skies to attack the dark creature from behind. She watched mesmerised as the two beings crashed with such force that the ground below her started shaking as if an earthquake was happening.

They were once again coming closer to her and she struggled to get on her feet and run just as the Urgal produced another set of flames.

"What are you waiting for? Run" he shouted at her angrily and run she did.

But just before she turned around to go, she saw the rider jumping on the dragon with elegance, his armor shining in the moonlight, his expression taught and serious, as he chased the creature higher into the skies.

**Hope you are all enjoying the story! REVIEW, FOLLOW OR FAV, it will only take a minute and honestly your interest is what keeps me going :). thanks!**


	6. Decisions, decisions

**Decisions, decisions**

Kayla run until she reached a clearing just before the forest where the citizens of Arhan stood alongside traders, soldiers, magicians and some elves.

"Walk inside girl, quickly" one of the soldiers told her and almost pushed her through an invisible barrier, where the rest of the people stood. Kayla looked around her, feeling disoriented and scared. She pressed her hands on her dress, which had now turned grey, and bit her lip hard until she tasted blood.

In her mind she could still see clearly the creature that had attacked from the skies. If she could compare it to anything, that would be a dragon simply because of the similarity in size and shape. That creature had a dark colour, almost black but she could not remember any specific characteristics of its head or body just that it moved in a blur and that it had long, sharp talons.

"KAYLA!" she heard a voice and turned around to see her mother, looking alarmed and running to her direction. Before Kayla was able to speak her mother had her in her arms, exhaling loudly.

"Are you okay?" her mother asked when she let her from her arms only to look into her eyes. Kayla nodded, almost unsteadily. She felt the need to cry but she pressed her lips tightly together and ignored the feeling.

"What happened? Why are we here?" the girl asked her mother.

"Nobody is really sure about what happened but after this creature started attacking, the soldiers started telling us to come to this clearing. The magicians have set wards around us so that nothing can penetrate unless they will it" she replied but Kayla's eyes scanned the periphery looking for the creature that had attacked and the dragons. For some reason she doubted that the wards would hold if the flying beings came towards them.

"What about the eggs?" Kayla asked in a low voice but her mother shook her head.

"I do not know much. I think all of them have been retrieved but they say there was a problem with some" her mother whispered and Kayla wondered what had happened.

She kept stealing glances at the horizon, fearing that the creature would return but instead she only saw the occasional dragon far in the distance or heard a growl. Kayla saw her mother sighing anxiously again as she paced up and down.

"I haven't seen Tristan. He is not here" her mother said in a low voice, as if to herself. Kayla put a protective arm over her mother's shoulders.

"He wasn't with us when the attack happened. He is probably back home" she said trying to reassure her. Her mother swallowed and nodded but she still kept biting her lip.

Kayla could hear the buzz of voices in the background. Some of the people seemed scared, others angry and some were even excited. She tried to block herself from all this unnecessary voice and wished she had her book with her.

She didn't know for how long they had been waiting, but soon she saw a dragon flying to their direction and landing only a few meters away from the invisible barrier. The dwarven dragon rider slid from the dragon's back and went to whisper something to one of the soldiers. The soldier nodded and soon he brought over one of Arhan's leader, the same one who had given the speech in the beginning of the Brasungr ceremony. The magicians, she noticed, seemed to instantly relax and opened their eyes. One of them went to drink water from his leather pouch.

People waited, watching the Arhan leader. He cleared his throat.

"The dragon riders have tried to locate the threat but it seems that as soon as it attacked the square, it flew away. The dragon eggs have been safely put in a place near here, the location of which I am not going to disclose. No decision has been made about the continuation of the ceremonies tomorrow but it is advised that for now, you return to your homes and stay there until further notice"

The leader finished and suddenly looked tired, almost ready to faint. One of the soldiers held him by the shoulder. People slowly begun to disperse heading back to their houses but some remained asking about injured family members.

Kayla went to leave but her mother gripped her hand.

"What if Tristan is one of the injured?" she asked, and her eyes grew bigger as if she was a terrified doe.

"He will not be one of the injured. And if he is, the magicians will be taking care of him and you will not be needed there" Kayla said in a rather harsh tone, which she regretted soon after when she saw her mother bite her lip harder than before.

She swallowed and took the road back to their house in silence. When her mother reached their household and realised that Tristan was not there she waited near the kitchen, with a piece of string in her hands and flowers. Kayla stood next to her, unable to go to sleep. She could just see the beginning of light coming from the horizon and just then she saw the door of their house crack open.

….

Tristan's shoulders slumped in as he walked inside the house, feeling embarrassed. He had no idea how he looked like, but it must not have been good.

"Are you okay? Were you harmed during the attack?" his mother asked him, rushing to his side, her fingers tenderly tracing the outline of his brows.

If not for the word attack, Tristan would have ignored them completely. But the word took him by surprise and he gazed at his family. His mother had dark circles under her eyes once again, a sweaty brow and bitten fingernails. His sister's dress was dirty, her hair was plastered to her forehead and she had scratches on her knees and arms.

"What do you ever mean? What happened? Are you okay?" he asked them and even though he still couldn't shake the turmoil of feelings inside him, he looked at them, worried.

"We are okay but there was an attack in the square just a few hours ago as soon as the calling of names stopped" his mother said and sat near the fireplace, looking exhausted.

An expression of pure horror crossed his face.

"The eggs? Are they all right?" he asked quickly, without pausing to take a breath of air.

"They said that there was a problem with some but they didn't give any further details. They have retrieved them in a secret location so we do not know if the celebrations will continue today" his mother continued. "But there is nothing that we can do now. There have been a few injuries but the magicians are tending to the wounded" his mother said and yawned, her eyelids closing despite her immense struggle to keep them open.

"I think you should go to bed, mom. We will talk tomorrow but as you said already there is nothing more that we can do" Kayla said and pushed her mother gently towards her room. She nodded, yawned once more and left them near the fireplace, where only ashes stood inside.

"What happened Kayla?" Tristan said, once he was certain their mother was asleep.

The girl gazed at him looking solemn, her blue eyes almost purple as the first rays of the rising sun entered the room.

"It came from above Tristan. I am not sure exactly what it was but please do not repeat what I am about to tell you to our mother. I do not want her to worry…"

Tristan nodded.

"It was like a shadow, almost like a dragon but a lot scarier and deadly than one. It almost killed me as it dived from the air and I could feel the darkness inside it…" his sister continued and almost shivered.

For a moment, he thought about putting a hand on his sister's shoulder as he had never seen her as frightened as this. He inwardly cursed himself because he felt he had abandoned his family at a time of need, just because an egg had not hatched for him. How selfish he had been!

"An Urgal dragon rider saved me. . . He was an Urgal, a monster in the stories and yet he put his life before mine" Kayla continued, looking bewildered.

"That's what dragon riders are supposed to do, Kayla. Protect land and water, life and freedom" he explained and once again his heart tightened in pain and disappointment. His sister watched him closely as he began to open up to her.

"An egg didn't hatch for me, once again. I thought this was my year, I could feel it in my heart but none of the eggs responded, nothing. Obviously I am not worthy enough. Galbatorix, the great and evil Galbatorix, had an egg hatch for him and I did not" he said, the words tasting bitter in his mouth.

"You have years ahead of you Tristan, do not give up hope…" his sister said but he stopped her mid-sentence and stood up, his hands curling into fists.

"Kayla you cannot attempt to understand what I am going through. In all my life I have had a purpose, something I wanted to do, something I felt I was meant to do. 3 years I have been presented with eggs of all shapes, sizes and colours and yet none have hatched for me. I have been training for years, my aim is perfect and my sword-fighting and wrestling abilities almost match Grion's. And yet nothing …" he said, once again the words tasting like a fruit gone bad.

"Tristan you know as well as I, that dragon riders are hard to pick. And if Eragon has not sent the appropriate egg towards you, even if you are meant to be a dragon rider, you might never be. Besides, as you said yourself you have been at the ceremony 3 years now and you can participate until you grow old"

He laughed, an awkward laugh.

"We both know that this is not true. I cannot become a dragon rider above the age of 40, maybe even 30 because my human body will have begun to decline by then. Dragons would never pick an old, withered human unless they had a death wish"

Tristan sighed and walked towards the window where he could now clearly see the sun rising, warming his face and body from the chill of the night before. His sister was still sitting beside the fireplace, deep in thought.

"I think you should see the eggs again" she commented, pushing her hair back from her brow. Tristan laughed, another awkward laugh.

"It doesn't work this way, you know. If an egg didn't hatch for me before why should it now? And besides with everything that's happened I highly doubt they will let us get even a few feet away from them. We don't even know where the eggs are!" he said and sensing a mixture of feelings rise in his chest, he started pacing up and down in the small room.

"You can search, I will help you! You have nothing to lose and this is something you have wanted for your entire life! Shouldn't you at least fight for it?" his sister said, her eyes alight with some emotion he could not fathom.

He thought about putting himself in front of the eggs again, hope rising in his chest at the prospect and then crushing into tiny little pieces if none of the eggs hatched. What did he have to lose really? His dignity? It was already crushed.

At the thought of spending his life as a smith, Tristan scowled. He walked to where his sister now stood and he looked at her blue-purple eyes, his image reflecting as if they were mirrors.

"Let's go find these dragon eggs"


	7. A Second Chance

**A Second Chance**

They left late afternoon, as soon as their mother had woken up, telling her that they would go to the city to find out what was happening. She looked worried but they reassured her that nothing would happen to them if they were together.

Kayla had exchanged her blue dress for a pair of leather pants and a loose white linen shirt, matching her brother's outfit. She had washed her body, face and hair, which was now in a ponytail. Her conversation with her brother in the early morning had stayed with her and she couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness and guilt. Her wish had been granted but Tristan looked more miserable than ever and she did not want that.

They reached the village square as small puffs of smoke still flew towards the sky. Most of the buildings had been destroyed, cheap and expensive objects lying on the ground like sand grains in the sea bed and it was obvious that some villagers had made efforts to restore the order but not with much luck.

Kayla pointed a soldier to her brother and they both walked towards him.

"I need to speak to a dragon rider" she told the soldier. The man looked at her as if she was crazy.

"The dragon riders are busy, girl, they have been patrolling the skies all day" the man answered and fixed his helmet.

"What about any magicians or Arhan's leaders? We wouldn't be here if it wasn't important" Tristan said behind her.

The man shook his head, unsure.

"We are willing to exchange a goat. Lovely, little thing, makes milk every day and fixes your grass problems" Tristan continued and Kayla shot him a perplexed look and so did the soldier.

"Look, I am not interested in your goat. I do not know where the Arhan leaders are but I do know that some magicians and elves are tending to the wounded in the clearing we gathered last night. Whatever you have to tell them, must be very important otherwise…." The man was saying but Tristan was already running towards the clearing with Kayla following closely behind.

When they reached the clearing a few tents had been set up and Kayla could hear people crying. Tristan rose an eyebrow at her direction but she shook her head. There were guards outside each tent, their swords glowing in the sun, their expressions serious.

"I will distract them" Tristan told her and Kayla hid behind the tent, watching her brother approach the guards.

"So, how much do you get paid each day?" Tristan casually asked, while studying a piece of rock.

The guards watched him carefully.

"What do you want, boy?" one of them asked. Tristan sighed dramatically and threw the rock in the air, catching it again.

"It's just that I have always wanted to do something else apart from being a smith and your job looks so exciting! Getting to ride alongside elves, dragons and the sort. Do you feel a rush of adrenaline before a battle?" Tristan asked having both guards' attention and motioned to her to go.

She run around the tent, only a few inches behind the guards and entered as silently as she could, praying they would not turn around. Kayla sifted her attention inside and she saw more people than she had expected. Their moans reached her ears and she momentarily felt dazed.

She searched around trying to find someone that could take them closer to the eggs and she saw a magician, kneeling beside a man's bed, concentrating hard. She rushed to them and stood a few inches away not wanting to distract the healer. She noticed the magician had dark skin and her hair was short and curly.

Kayla watched in fascination as some of the man's injuries began to heal as if by themselves and black smoke rose from his wounds. The man had his eyes closed, wincing once so often. After she was done, the healer opened her eyes and breathed deep and slow. She took out from her bag a piece of bread and a jag of water and she drunk deep.

"I need your help" Kayla whispered behind the magician. The woman jumped, almost dropping the water she was holding and her attention sifted to Kayla.

"I am sorry but I am busy. I can't help you" the magician said and shook her head taking another sip of water.

"But I am willing to help you. I believe we can help each other" Kayla said to the woman and she looked surprised. The man beside them, let out a small wince and closed his eyes again.

"Girl, do you see all these wounded here? Do you hear their pain? Do you see the smoke rising from their wounds? In all our years, few of us have seen injuries of that extent. To heal them takes a tremendous amount of energy. Energy that we do not have" the woman said and run her hand through her hair, wiping sweat from the man's brows.

"You need energy. I can give it to you" Kayla said to the woman and the magician looked taken aback.

"I have read books and though I am sure they are not accurate I know how magic works. You need energy to heal the wounded, I will give you mine. I want the people of Arhan to be healed as much as anyone, since I live in this village. But in return you must talk to one of the dragon riders for me. There is something I need to tell them" Kayla continued.

"Girl, you do not know what you ask. It's a hard task tapping into someone's energy…" she started but Kayla cut her mid-sentence.

"But it will be renewed and you need all the help you can get"

The magician seemed to mull over this decision and then looked at Kayla. She felt a presence in her mind and she could see the woman concentrate, as her eyebrows were pulled together and she was breathing hard. There was a small part in her mind, something she had felt before and it was being approached by an alien entity.

She felt the energy flow as it moved from her to the magician and her knees trembled slightly. Kayla suddenly felt lightheaded and went to touch a wooden chair just as the connection between her and the magician broke.

The older woman looked as if she had just eaten an immense amount of fruit, and sugar was pumping throughout her body. She gave Kayla a drink of water and a piece of bread, which the girl accepted happily.

"Did you get enough?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yes. I got enough. I got more than…" the older woman started saying bewildered, but Kayla cut her mid-sentence.

"And my energy reserve will heal now. I know. Will you speak to the riders for me?"

The magician nodded twice and closed her eyes but her brows were not pulled together and it seemed as if she didn't need to expend any energy at all.

Kayla got up from the chair, feeling a bit better and waited as the woman opened her eyes again after a few seconds.

The magician got up and went to exit the tent while Kayla followed closely behind.

"And then when I was ten I killed this gigantic wild boar that roamed the Spine for years causing havoc and terror… "Tristan was saying to two extremely bored guards who kept glancing at each other. He glanced at her direction just as the tent opened and the two guards stepped back, startled, to let the magician pass.

"Dear sister where have you been? These two lovely people have been keeping me company while I was waiting for you" Tristan said, smiling widely and followed behind Kayla as he waved at the guards. "Until next time", he continued and the guards shot each other horrified expressions.

"You didn't say there would be two of you" the magician whispered to Kayla when they had put some distance between themselves and the guards.

"Will this be a problem?" she asked, suddenly worried. The magician closed her eyes for a bit and then shook her head.

"Follow me" she whispered to them both as she walked deeper inside the forest.

…

Kayla struggled to keep up with the turns and twists in the road but after only a little bit, she gave up. She still felt slightly weak from the loss of energy and she was steadily losing ground and being left behind. Tristan was in front of her, trying to start a conversation with the woman.

"Do all magicians have black markings such as yours?" he asked her.

"No" the woman replied.

"Is it true that you don't grow old, as fast as normal humans would?"

"Yes"

"Do you enjoy a roast chicken more than a vegetable broth?"

"Yes" the woman answered and then looked at Tristan baffled. "How does this connect with me being a magician?"

"It doesn't, I just wanted you to say something else other than yes and no" Tristan replied and gave her one of his biggest smiles.

Despite herself, Kayla smiled just as the woman came to a halt.

She saw nothing out of the ordinary at the place they stopped, apart from the fact there was a small opening between the trees.

"Mor' amr" the magician said and suddenly out of nowhere structures appeared and the opening that was before, now seemed ten times larger. A brown dragon lay down with its eyes closed, smoke rising from its nostrils.

The elf dragon rider appeared from between the wooden structures and approached them, looking deadly serious.

"What is it that you wish to speak of, young ones?" he asked in a solemn tone, his fair hair touching the sharp angles of his face.

"I am asking to see the dragon eggs again" Tristan said, standing close to Kayla. The elf seemed to consider this for only a little while.

"No" he replied.

"What is it with creatures who wield magic and single word answers?" he asked almost annoyed and Kayla touched his shoulder,

The elf rider sighed, almost impatient.

"What attacked us last night left a bigger damage than we had originally anticipated. Two dragon eggs are damaged and one is missing. We cannot afford to let you near these eggs" he explained. Tristan looked taken aback with this new information but he did not stop.

"We do not pose any danger. We just came to see them one more time…" he said just as the Urgal dragon rider appeared from inside the wooden structure. Kayla looked at him, wishing he could remember her from last night. If he did, he did not show any signs.

"No. Next year" the elf said and irritated Tristan nodded and turned around to leave.

"I demand to be presented to the eggs!" Kayla shouted, as she watched her brother giving up and something sparked inside her.

"You cannot demand anything little girl, you ask and if we want we give" the elf continued.

"But I have the right to see the eggs as everyone else in Alagaesia"

"You have already had your chance"

"No, I haven't. In all three years I have declined the offer but there was supposed to be another calling of names"

"And it is your own fault. You will have to wait until next year when Brasungr festival shall begin…" the elf continued but Kayla cut him mid-sentence.

"We both know that this is not desirable. How many eggs have hatched this year? Two? Will two dragon riders be enough? Already word has it that the number of dragon riders has started to decline. Give us a chance, you have nothing to lose and if you are afraid that we might damage the eggs, examine our minds, do whatever you want. We just want another chance" Kayla said again and almost begged.

The Urgal rider approached them and touched his chin, his yellow eyes glinting as the sun started to set. Kayla returned the gaze, not showing the slightest sign of fear.

"Impressive speech but why do you think you or your brother will be picked as dragon riders? What do you have that the other men and women here, lack? Please convince us" he asked her.

_I want my brother to be a dragon rider. I want him to succeed. _

"We want to be dragon riders. We went through all this trouble of finding you. I don't see any of the other men and women you mentioned standing before you"

The Urgal looked at the elf dragon rider who was intently studying Kayla and Tristan, his gaze lingering on both.

"One minute" he said. "One minute for each egg and if nothing happens you will go back to your house and wait for another year"

"Agreed" Tristan said behind her, in a calm demeanour, Tristan who got excited with anything dragon related.

They followed the elf and the Urgal inside the wooden structure leaving the woman behind as she turned around to go tend to the sick.

Five eggs stood before them in special pedestals and protective material surrounded them. Kayla, gazed mesmerized as she had never seen dragon eggs from such a close distance. The two dragon riders watched their every move, like lions watching their pray.

"The girl first. Don't forget, one minute for each" the Urgal said in a deep tone.

Kayla nodded and went to stand before the first egg which had the colour of almonds. She swallowed, suddenly very anxious as she felt her hand shake. She run a single finger, quick, across its surface and then went to the next one. This one, had the colour of the rising sun and repeating her previous movement, her hand touched the outside hurriedly. She didn't even properly touch the third egg before she went to the forth.

There she paused. This egg was different compared to the ones before. She couldn't determine its exact colour as it was something between silver, grey and purple. Her heart beat faster inside her chest and she felt sweat run down her back.

Her delicate fingers grazed the rough but smooth surface and she felt a presence inside her mind as she had done so when the magician had entered her mind. However this was a calm presence, a curious presence and it seemed to want to know more about her, slightly brushing the edges of her unconsciousness.

Kayla shivered and almost screamed, dropping her hand to the side. Without looking back she went to the last egg, a similar complexion to the previous one with that having highlights of light blue instead of purple. She pressed her right hand on top and she felt another consciousness demanding entrance into her mind. Perplexed and scared, she only held her palm on top for only a second before she rushed away and walked close to the two dragon riders.

Her breath was coming out loud, but she was trying to calm herself and show no signs of distress in front of the elves. She didn't want them to get the wrong idea.

She watched as Tristan walked to the pedestals, touching the eggs with his palms but he held them there longer than she had. Kayla could still feel the brushes of a consciousness in her mind making her uneasy.

_Please let a dragon hatch. Please let Tristan become a dragon rider_, she pleaded with her mind.

Tristan walked to the forth egg, placing both his palms on top as the two dragon riders watched carefully. He removed them after just a minute and put his hands on the final egg. There seemed to be a sudden change in his expression, surprise mingled with hope and then suddenly a noise echoed around the wooden structure and all four turned to see a crack appearing on the forth egg.

Kayla smiled but her brother appeared more puzzled than anything else and then another loud noise echoed and riders and humans alike gazed, shocked, at the large crack that had appeared on the final egg just as all hell was about to break loose.

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. What do you think of the plot so far? Do you like the pace the story is going at or should I increase it? Reviews/comments would be greatly appreciated ****. **


	8. Gedwey Ignasia

**Gedwey Ignasia**

Tristan looked around, bewildered, as elves, magicians and soldiers run inside and stared at the two eggs which had now began to crack, the noise even louder than before.

This was not at all, how he had expected this to go down. In the most far-fetched scenario, he could see himself walking up the stage, touching one egg and then this one egg would crack. What was unravelling in front of him was rather unrealistic. There was a feeling of pressure at the back of his head that only seconds ago had not been present and he recognised it as the dragon's presence.

"Nobody go near these eggs! Do you understand?" the Urgal dragon rider barked, his yellow eyes glowing as his horns appeared to be growing longer and his facial features twisted into a bewildered and angry expression.

The crack that had appeared in the middle of the blue-grey egg started getting thicker and a sound resembling very much the sound of a bird's beak atop a tree, echoed once more inside the tent.

"What is happening?" one of the magicians asked, as he closed his eyes trying to concentrate on something, but then quickly opened them again as if his spell was not working.

"I think this is something we are all quite curious to find out" the dwarven rider bellowed entering the tent, the human rider next to him.

She took the scene in front of her and her brows pulled together.

"Never have I heard of two dragons hatching for one rider" she whispered as she, as well ,closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate on something.

"Maybe they didn't" the Urgal commented and Tristan turned his attention to him. Never in his life had he felt so stunned. He was frozen into place, afraid to move forward, afraid to move backwards. Despite the immense amount of reading he had done upon dragons, nothing had prepared him for this.

"What ever do you mean?" the elf asked and turned his head around as a second crack appeared on the grey purple egg.

"Two humans touched the eggs, two eggs cracked. Coincidence? I do not think so... " he said and suddenly all gazes were fixed upon his sister. She was hiding in the back, trying to avoid attention but failing.

"The question however remains. If this is the case then which egg is for which rider" the dwarf said and scratched his beard which under the light appeared ginger.

Tristan knew how important matter that was. If first contact happened with anyone but the intended dragon rider the bond would be weak. He looked at the eggs both magnificent and unique and wondered which egg harbored his own dragon.

He heard the riders shooing the elves and magicians out until only he, Kayla and the riders remained inside. Something was entering his mind again, a presence he welcomed. Tristan remembered how he had felt something stirring in both the eggs, the purple and the blue, with the blue one being stronger than the purple but then again he could not be sure.

"I can neither enter the humans' minds nor the dragons. Something is blocking me" the elf said and his dark gaze fell on Tristan and Kayla. "How sure of yourselves you were, when you entered…"

All riders stopped talking and looked at each other, the silent trail of words passing between them, obvious.

"Tell us what you feel girl" the Urgal dragon rider said after a while and looked at Kayla.

"I… I am not sure" his sister replied but Tristan could tell that there was something she was not sharing with them. The Urgal sensed so as well and he pressed his lips together tightly.

"What about you, young boy?" the elf asked him and he tried to put into words the emotions he was feeling. His answer seemed to satisfy the riders and they turned upon his sister once again.

"Is there nothing in your mind right now, not even a single nudge?" the Urgal dragon rider asked Kayla. It was the second time in his lifetime that Tristan had seen her like this, lost of words and terrified.

"I..." his sister began but was cut mid-sentence by the elf.

"This is obvious, Stoic. The eggs are hatching for them both, as small as this chance might be. The purple belongs to the girl as she touched that one first and it was the first to crack as well and the blue to the boy. We can confirm this, once the eggs are fully cracked. The dragons should turn to their riders" the elf said, his fair hair running down his back in small waves.

"The dragons are only hatchlings, we cannot expect them to ..." the woman rider started but a sharp piece of the grey-blue egg's shell flew towards her direction and silenced her.

Another one fell just a few inches away from Tristan's feet and he could see the blue egg rocking fast on top of its pedestal just as a muzzle poked from the cracks. Despite himself Tristan walked forward and he watched mesmerized as a series of squeaks echoed and the dragon emerged from its shell. It had a tiny head the colour of the dark grey blue ocean and a small body no larger than his forearm, the colour, a dark silver blue. The dragon pressed one paw on the ground tentatively, as if it was testing it and then slowly extended its wings, which had the colour of liquid silver. Its two black eyes rested on Tristan just for a moment, before it lazily hang its tongue out and started fanning its wings quickly. Without further due Tristan watched as the dragon started running quickly at his direction, using its wings for balance and awkwardly fell on his leather boots.

It seemed as if the dragon had a mischievous expression on its face and Tristan kneeled down to get a closer look at it. The dragon pulled its tiny forked tongue out, once, and pressed its head on Tristan's hand. A sudden rush of feelings enveloped him and he felt as if he had been dropped in an icy cold lake, with ice crystals poking on every inch of his being. He let out a loud scream as the pain intensified and felt his body going limp as he slumped into unconsciousness.

…..

Kayla watched horrified as her brother was making first contact with the dragon. She walked backwards slowly, the riders' gaze fixed upon Tristan and not paying attention to her.

"No" she whispered as she saw the two cracks on the purple-silver egg becoming thicker. There was a lump in her throat and no matter how hard she swallowed it would not go away. She could feel her heart beating fast inside her chest.

At the edge of her consciousness there was that annoying tingling and she tried to shield herself from it, but with not much luck.

She watched Tristan scream and faint as the small blue reptile curled inside his hand. The human rider rushed to his side while the Urgal watched her closely as she was taking more steps backward and the tapping noise inside the purple egg, increased.

"I do not want this" she whispered both to herself and the riders staring at her, feeling moisture at the edges of her eyes. The dwarf's expression was sympathetic.

"The pain will only last a moment…" he started but Kayla shook her head angrily.

"I don't want any of it!" she shouted furiously, because the riders had misunderstood, thinking she was afraid of the pain.

The pain was the last of her worries actually, as she saw the remaining egg shaking, moving forward and backward faster, and the tingling at the back of her mind intensified. The egg shined brightly for only a moment until the shell broke into a thousand fragments that flew around the confined space. Some of these fragments landed close to her, others missed her face by inches and others sliced her thigh. Unable to move her gaze away, she watched as the dragon was propelled from the explosion and for a moment, she dared hope that the creature would fall to its death, but instead it expanded its silvery wings at the last moment and flew.

She only had a second before the reptile's violet eyes spotted her in the corner and started flying aggressively towards her direction. Kayla shrieked, just as the dragon fell on her hand with such force that her breath caught between her lungs.

The pain was intense, liquid ice running through her veins so quickly, that she didn't have time to process exactly what was happening. But she did not faint. No, she would not give the creature the satisfaction.

Kayla felt the reptile demand entrance into her mind but she would not bend. She gazed darkly at its violet eyes and the creature hissed at her direction. It took a few steps backwards, showing her the sharp array of teeth it bore just as Kayla raised her right hand up and noticed the silver oval marking in her palm.

_Gedwey Ignasia,_ she thought and felt a tightening in her chest, realizing with despair that she could no longer deny it.

_I am a dragon rider,_ she thought to herself and the words left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

The silver-purple dragon was at her feet again, parts of membrane still sticking out from its skin, an unappealing sight. She felt the alien entity nudge at her consciousness again and without a second thought she raised her right hand and let out a blast of silver energy towards its direction.

She saw the creature falling backwards and satisfaction coursed through her, just as another wave of pain hit her, ten times stronger than the one before and this time she did faint.

…..

Eragon was standing on top of a tall oak tree, easily extending 25 feet in height. It had strong, big branches and dark green leaves that concealed some of the midday sun. The resemblance it had to the trees in Elesmira was striking. Eragon could hear the river water running from the top of the snowy mountains and he remembered the feeling when he had first tasted it, sweet pure and cold. He was debating whether he should extend the length of the tree branches, as he saw an image flashing in his mind and almost lost his balance. He was far away from Alagaesia, but often if the riders wanted something urgent they would send him an image.

_Saphira…, Did you feel that?_

His dragon was out hunting, catching fish and sharks from the waters near the island while he had been working on the wooden structure.

_Little one_, his dragon said but her thoughts were scattered, trying to make sense of the image they had just seen. Saphira abandoned her lunch to fly back to him and Eragon run to the island's base.

_What do you think it means?,_ he asked her.

His dragon mulled over it.

_I have never seen or heard of anything similar. We need to speak to the riders. Soon,_ Saphira replied, in a very serious and worried tone.

Eragon couldn't agree more and using the ancient language he made himself run faster, as a set of unjustified angry violet eyes pierced into his mind.


	9. Guard yourself against all dangers

**Guard yourself against all dangers **

Tristan woke up just as the midday sun fell on his skin, warming his chilled bones. He was on a very soft bed and he felt as if he was floating on clouds. Momentarily he wondered how his bed felt so soft since usually he woke up with knots all over his lower back, as if he was an old man and he had to turn in weird angles in order to untie them.

Something was licking his face. Had Daisy managed to sneak inside the house again, he wondered but no, the tongue felt rough, almost like a cat's …

He opened one eye and saw grey-blue scales rather than fur. A dragon was sitting on his face, its tiny forked tongue out and Tristan moved back at the edge of the bed, startled. The dragon rolled on its back, making a rumbling sound and Tristan felt thoughts of happiness, amusement and curiosity emitting from the creature.

The events from the previous night rushed into his mind and uncertain he checked his right palm only to find the gedwey ignasia symbol which marked him as a dragon rider. He smiled, widely as he struggled to believe that his biggest dream had come true.

_Being picked as a rider was the hard part. Training should be easy. _

Just then he realised than he was in a rather well kept place, with oak wooden furniture decorating the space and sun streaming from the large window that stood opposite his bed. He felt the dragon's consciousness press into his own and it felt as if he had been blind before and now he could see. The dragon's sensitive senses allowed him to see, hear, taste and feel things with a new perspective. He could hear the buzzing sound of a trapped bee and he could actually see it from up close, even though it was at least 3 meters away, as it kept going around in circles trying to find an opening.

The dragon rolled on its side again, Tristan's attention shifting to it, and he picked it up in both hands realising that it had already grown a few inches. Excitement coursed through both of them as the dragon started playing with his hands, trying to catch them while Tristan was holding them in the air, laughing.

The creature pouted, its two eyes, the colour of onyx looking back at him, and a paw tapping impatiently on the bed. He was momentarily dazed just as the dragon jumped up, reached for his left hand and grabbed it inside its mouth. Tristan felt no pain, however, realising the dragon was careful not to use its sharp teeth when holding onto him.

"Hello you" he said out loud and two clever, mischievous eyes gazed back at him. Tristan put his right hand out and watched as the dragon took delicate steps forward and then rubbed his muzzle against it.

He heard and felt the noise of someone approaching, five minutes before they actually got to his room. Yes, sensing things from the dragon's perspective had its perks.

"Good morning Tristan. We have been waiting for you to wake up for quite some time" the human rider said as she entered his room. The elf rider was next to her, looking deadly serious but calm as always.

"Good morning…. Wait. How do you know my name?" Tristan asked and raised his eyebrows.

"Does it matter? There are more pressing issues to discuss" the elf replied.

"You looked into my mind didn't you?" he replied and made himself appear horrified, while he was trying to contain a smile.

The rider crossed his arms over his chest. Tristan shook his head disapprovingly and tsked.

"This is not cool, man. Not cool." The dragon at his lap shook its head as well and let out a whiff of smoke.

"Look. There are some things we need to discuss…" the elf started again but Tristan cut him mid-sentence.

"One last question. Did you look into my mind while I was sleeping?" he asked and the elf didn't answer just pressed his hands on his temples lightly.

"Mighty seven riders, you did! This is creepy, you know. Very creepy" he added, the dragon pouring happily in his lap.

"ENOUGH!" the human rider said, as her hair seemed to become curlier. Tristan raised his hands in the air and gave her one of his brightest smiles.

She held her fists on her sides and then walked to the elf to whisper something in his ear. The elf nodded and he watched, as the human rider turned around and walked out of the room.

"So ... When are you going to ask her out?" Tristan asked him, while lazily rubbing his dragon's head.

"What are you taking about?" the elf asked, raising his eyebrows in the air, the first facial change Tristan had seen him make.

"Curly brown hair, big shoulders… You don't live forever you know" Tristan added and smiled wildly again.

The elf pressed his lips tightly together.

_This is serious! Stop wasting your time and voice in useless things!_ he bellowed in a dark and rather scary tone into the boy's mind.

Tristan held his head and the dragon wailed. The elf looked satisfied.

"Now that I have your attention… It's time to tell you something about your sister"

"Oh yeah! Has the dragon hatched for her? What colour is the dragon?" Tristan asked, suddenly remembering he hadn't seen her for quite some time and he had fainted before he found out any more information about the situation.

The elf didn't reply for a few seconds. Tristan looked at him and only then did he realise the grave expression the rider bore.

_Kayla…,_ he thought scared and he jumped from the bed, holding his dragon in his arms, his heart beating faster inside his chest.

"My sister… Is she okay?" he asked, his voice slightly shaking in the end.

"I am afraid there have been some… Complications"

….

Kayla woke up in a dark room and the first thing she thought was that she could no longer sense the dragon's presence. She sighed, thankfully. Yet when she concentrated a bit harder, there was this tingling at the edge of her mind, very much resembling the pressing consciousness of another being.

She remembered the events that had occurred yesterday and that very familiar feeling of dread settled over her. As her eyes adjusted to the dark of the room, she noticed that her wrists had thick metal chains around them, the same that were also around her ankles. She tested their power, by pulling her left hand hard but the chain held and she was sure that apart from the strong metal, magic had been involved in their making.

With nothing else to do, she began to study the room around her and wonder who her captors were. The room was rather small with four walls, three made out of grey stone and the fourth made out of tall metal bars with narrow spacing between them. Even if she did manage to break the chains, she doubted she would be able to fit her body between the bars.

The last thing she remembered before she fainted, was the grey-purple reptile and the dragon riders watching her in shock. Yes, she knew exactly who her captors were and her theory was confirmed when the Urgal dragon rider opened a door from the outside of her prison and entered.

He looked weary and solemn, his skin greyer than usual and his horns and talons did not glow when the light fell on them. The rider put his hands in front of his chest and sat down on the ground, so that his eyes were on the same level as hers.

"I have done a lot of thinking over the past few hours and I have realised, amongst other things that we have yet to be introduced properly. I am Stoic, son of Theon who is head of the Kull territory in the East of the dessert" he said.

She debated whether she should reply or not but with nothing to lose she gave him her answer.

"I am Kayla, age fifteen, daughter of Borosson" she replied knowing full well that this was the exact way people were referred to, during the calling of names.

Stoic's brows pulled together.

"Kayla, age fifteen, daughter of Borosson, let me explain the situation to you. You are a clever girl, I can see, and you might have figured this already but still I ought to give you an explanation about our current behaviour. Two days ago there was an attack in Arhan village with many injured and some dead. The city square is all but destroyed. It will take years to rebuild the surrounding buildings, people will not be able to continue their current occupations and it's very possible that some will not even survive the coming winter" the Urgal said and paused.

"Most importantly two eggs were damaged and one was stolen. We still do not know the source of the attack as we have never seen anything like this before but our opponent was strong, as you might recall. He did attack and almost kill you" Stoic said and paused again.

Kayla met his dark eyes, which were surrounded by a yellow exterior.

"I remember. But I didn't expect, you would as well" she said.

"Yes, I have a rather long and good memory but that's not the matter at hand. The day after the attack, two children arrived in our camp, demanding to see the eggs. In my mind I am thinking that you were just unhappy about the attack and had the illusion that by becoming dragon riders you would be able to get revenge on the ones who wronged you. I did not expect the eggs to hatch. The chances for that were incredibly small and your brother had already seen the eggs once. However, suddenly, not one, but two eggs hatch one after the other. I am sure you can sense our confusion" he said and paused, his gaze calculating.

"However, this was nothing compared to what followed soon after. Your brother bonded with the dragon but the events were standard, nothing out of the ordinary… As opposed to you. We have never witnessed or heard of a similar dragon or rider behaviour. And we demand an explanation" the Kull said, his eyes becoming slits and his arm muscles flexing.

She did not know how to respond. Of course she understood the riders' behaviour, but that did not mean she held the answers to their problems.

"There are strong wards around your mind and I do not know how you are able to do this, since you have never been taught the skill. I cannot enter your mind but I would very much like to. I suggest you put the wards down, so I can determine whether you are a threat or not and put the matter at rest" Stoic ended.

Kayla could pretend she didn't know what wards he was talking about but then thought better of it, as she sensed the barriers she had put up, in order not to allow the reptile's consciousness to slip into her own. She had not been taught this skill, that much was true, but she had read many magic books and the introduction to them all was the same.

"Guard yourselves against all dangers" was the chapter's name and as she now was a dragon rider and had magic she had put theory into action. She wasn't sure she wanted to put the barriers down, though, afraid the creature would sneak in.

"Where is the dragon?" she asked Stoic, the third time she had spoken thus far.

The Urgal studied her carefully.

"He is in a safe place, not very close to here" he replied.

She hoped that "not very close" would be at least 20 miles away, as she sighed and let her barriers drop.

Kayla felt the Kull's consciousness as a brush against her own and she winced in displeasure.

She watched him carefully, as he examined her thoughts and a mixture of feelings enveloped him. First confusion, then anger, then horror and finally sorrow.

After he was finished, he retreated into his own mind and when Kayla felt the nudges of the dragon's consciousness she quickly put her barriers up.

"You should have told us, we would have been able to help" Stoic finally said, his expression blanc, a stark contrast to the plethora of emotions he had before.

Kayla laughed, a rather depressed laugh.

"I really doubt you can help me now" she added in a solemn tone.

Once you became a dragon rider you could not go back unless your dragon died, but Kayla was not sure if she could or would kill the dragon. There was also the matter of the dragon riders and she was certain that they would not be too happy if she did this.

"You should have told us the truth from the beginning" the Urgal insisted.

"Would you have given Tristan another chance if it was him alone?" Kayla asked.

Stoic seemed to consider this, before he answered in an honest tone.

"Unlikely" he replied and Kayla nodded expecting nothing less.

"I am assuming there is no way to reverse this, then" she added.

"Not that I know off", the Urgal replied, another honest answer but Kayla's heart twisted.

She thought about her mother, how sudden and baffling the news would be to her, how devastated she would become…

"When are we leaving?" she asked Stoic and the rider got up from his knees and held a key in his hands, the key that no doubt opened the metal chains around her limbs.

"We were supposed to leave today but due to the events that just occurred we had to postpone it. We are leaving tomorrow" he answered and went to unlock the chains.

Kayla's wrists and ankles felt sore and had red markings around them but when dry tears run down her eyes it was not because of this. The Kull stood before her, a towering figure, as she tried to get up. She raised her eyebrows at this, bewildered.

"You might not want to take my advice but at least consider it. Try to communicate with the dragon. You might find yourself enjoying its company" he added, his tone almost gentle.

_Doubtful_, Kayla thought but she did not say so out loud.

"And please, by no means, should you attack the dragon again. You do not know how to control this power yet, despite the impressive barriers you have put around your mind and next time it will kill both you and the dragon" he continued.

She wanted to protest and say that it was the reptile who had attacked her first but she kept her lips firmly shut about that matter.

"Can I go see my mother?" she asked instead, her tone almost pleading.

The Urgal nodded, his arms crossed over his chest.

"It has been arranged for both you and your brother to go back. You will be escorted by two riders of course and you should have enough time to pack your things and…" he was saying but she was not listening any more. When the door to her cell was open she run back home for one last time.

…

Eragon stood near the island's volcano, its molten lava inside, boiling, like a thick rabbit stew above the fire, as flashes of a certain memory entered his mind.

Him standing near the hundreds of eggs below, Saphira on his side as they recited the words of the ancient language together, the flow of magic clear as a summer day…

_Little one… Stop torturing yourself_, his dragon said, sensing his mood change.

_Saphira ….Is there any chance that what we did to the eggs might have caused this?_

His dragon was thoughtful, as she gazed at the never-ending deep blue sea, a colour, close to the ones her scales were.

_We had no other choice, Eragon… You remember Umaroth's warning, don't you? The eggs needed to hatch and quickly_, she replied in his mind as she flew higher into the skies, testing her limits.

_There is always another choice, Saphira. You took more than eight days to hatch for me and you examined my mind every single day. We are giving the dragons less than a minute to decide on their rider. Is it possible that they might have been wrong?_

_Possibly but if this is the case the repercussions of this would be … _

_Devastating? _Eragon added in a rather depressed tone.

Saphira said nothing but he could feel that she was flying fast between the clouds trying to lose herself between them.

As Eragon pressed his head between his hands, a certain thought repeated in his mind, again and again.

_One minute is not long enough and the dragon might just have hatched for the wrong rider. Arya, you were right._

**What do you guys think of the story so far? Do you like the pace? Any characters you would like to see more/less of ? Review, follow/fav and let me know :).**


	10. Farewell and good night

**Farewell and good night**

Her mother stood in front of the house, a smile playing on her face. To someone who did not know her well, she would appear excited and even happy but Kayla noticed the red around her eyes, her bitten fingernails.

"This is going to be so great for you both! Tristan always wanted to be a dragon rider and I know how much you love to read books, the island should be full of those! And you will get to meet other people and might even acquire some new friends!" her mother said but her voice rose in an unnaturally high pitch at the end of the sentence, the smile she had on, obviously fake. Kayla wondered when she would see her mother again.

She knew Tristan had tried to reason with the riders and asked if they could bring their mother with them but the riders had declined. Again, their answer made perfect sense to her, although she hated to admit it. They could not bring to the island everyone's family members and they would not make exceptions.

Yes, everyone said the lands were safe, yes there would be food for the winter, yes they said they would take care of her, but they did not know.

_Mom, there is something I have to tell you… Something about father...Don't go too near to the Spine…_

"Excited Kayla?" her mother asked, oblivious to her trail of thoughts.

"Very"

….

"Daisy, my lovely goat. You have no idea how much I will miss you" Tristan said as he rubbed the animal's chin and she behd, satisfied.

"You could always take her with you, you know" Buster commented and Tristan raised his eyebrow at that.

"For some reason I doubt Daisy and the dragon would get along very well. You know, since dragons tend to feast on goats" Tristan said and snorted.

He left Dairy to her business and turned around to look at his two friends, Grion tall and proud and Buster small and timid.

"Take care of her for me, if you can. She is a good dragon substitute. Don't go too near to the Spine and not too deep in the forest. And Grion… Would you be able to check on my mother every so often?" Tristan asked and wished his friend's answer to be yes.

Grion snorted.

"Don't be stupid. Of course, I will. Just keep sending me you dragon's baby teeth or something and once I sell them, there will be more than enough golds and silvers to keep your mother going" his friend commented.

Tristan smiled, happy and proud to have such good friends and pressed his chest close to Grion's, while holding their fists together. They did not embrace, they did not need to. He then run his hand through Buster's hair and for once the boy did not pull back and just looked at him with his big brown eyes, ready to cry.

"Don't let your mother boss you around too much. You are a man now, you have turned 14" he said and smiled. The boy nodded and shook his head in acknowledgement, while Grion had his hand crossed over his chest but he was struggling not to let the emotions overtake him.

It was time to go, he knew, but he felt a tightness in his chest when he thought of leaving. In his mind he had always pictured the dragon egg hatching but never the part where he would say goodbye.

He sighed, rubbing Daisy's ears one more time and he turned to walk inside the house as there was one more person he had to see.

"Mom, look what I got for you" he said and showed her the blue-grey fragments of the egg, as he entered their small house. He had tried to retrieve pieces from Kayla's dragon egg, as well, but all that remained of them was sand. His mother smiled politely but didn't seem that excited about the fragments and she was gazing every so often at his sister. Kayla was standing in the corner of the room and when she saw him she nodded in acknowledgement and walked outside, giving them some privacy.

"How proud your father would be!" his mother commented, her smile wide, her eyes red. Tristan nodded, feeling a lump in his throat.

He walked to her side and hugged her tightly. Tristan remembered the time when he was no taller than her hips but now he was taller by a head at least and she looked small.

"Don't go too near to the Spine, mother. Take care of the animals, they should be more than enough to provide for you and whatever you have left, sell in the market. Grion will bring you supplies once so often as his father gets the best picks of meat" he said but at his comment his mother suddenly seemed angry.

"I don't want anyone's charity" she said in an almost offended tone.

"Mother, it's not charity. You are left with no husband and no children to take care of you and the winter is coming and it will be long and cold. There is no crime in accepting any help that you can get and Grion will be making money from our deal as well" Tristan explained and showed her the dragon's shell once again. This time his mother did pay attention and looked at the intricate design and colour.

"Is that your dragon's colour?" she said out loud, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth, one that looked genuine.

Tristan nodded, proud.

"Yes, he is a dark blue, silver colour, He is magnificent, mother. Would you like to see?" he asked her and his mother nodded. He opened the door and his dragon walked inside, tentatively and smelling everything, excited.

"Can I touch him?" his mother asked and Tristan nodded. He spoke to the dragon's consciousness and told him to be nice but the dragon had already walked to his mother side and was jumping up and down. His mother gave him a chicken bone and the dragon looked ecstatic. When she tried to stroke him however he pulled back and went to stand next to Tristan.

His mother sighed and smiled happily.

"He is very handsome and I am sure he will take good care of you and you of him. Has Kayla brought her dragon as well?" she asked and went to gaze outside of the window but Tristan knew that only his sister and the two dragon riders were present.

"No, it had to stay back. Mother, I will miss you" Tristan commented and his mother hugged him tightly once again, but she seemed to be considering something and bit her lip.

"Tristan, I know this is what you want but promise me one thing. Watch over your sister. You are light, you have always been light but sometimes she can be dark. Don't let her go" she said suddenly in a very serious, mature tone.

Bewildered, Tristan still nodded and exited his childhood home, memories dancing at his mind's edges, making his dragon gloomy and content at the same time.

…

They started their journey early in the next morning just as the sun was rising. The sensible thing would have been to travel on dragon-back but as there were two more riders that needed to be picked up, the elf and the human had set of to go retrieve them, while the rest of them travelled on foot. There was also the matter of the dragon eggs and it was not safe for them to be on dragon's back in case of an attack. If indeed there was an attack and the eggs were down below the dragons would be free to manoeuvre and fight the invaders which would not have been possible if they were carrying the eggs. The magicians and the soldiers had been left behind as too many people would attract unwanted attention and slow them down.

The two big dragons patrolled the skies to sense incoming dangers and the hatchlings and remaining riders were walking. They had been lucky about the weather as it had been another clear summer day and that allowed them to transverse the land quicker.

The purple dragon was in a wooden cage and it did not look happy. It had twice the size of his own and everyone could see that the creature was growing extremely fast as if a spell had been cast on it. From what he had heard from the riders, as soon as his sister was put in a cage the dragon had gone ballistic. It kept attacking everyone and no one dared to come too close. They had all agreed that the dragon could not be kept loose. The dwarven dragon rider had been picked to put the purple into the cage but now his usually trimmed, long, red beard stood in shreds.

Indeed, the dragon looked rabid as he was gnawing on the wooden bars, furiously, hissing and growling at anyone who came any closer than 6 feet away and had even tried to blow whiffs of fire but only smoke emerged from his strong jaws. His nails had also scraped the inside of the wooden cage and there wasn't a single spot where the wood was smooth. Tristan did not doubt that if the dragon continued at it he would soon get out.

He had to wonder if he had falsely accused his sister. As soon as he heard what had happened he had confronted her, calling her heartless but as he looked at the dragon once again he was not sure who was in the wrong.

Tristan run his hands over his dragon's back who was sitting on his shoulder and was thankful that the creature was not attacking him. The dragon was calm now, pouring but at the beginning of the trip, with purple causing havoc, he had been agitated. Tristan's dragon was male from what the riders had told him and he was thinking of possible names, while looking at the clear blue skies and the green land that extended ahead of them, when his sister approached him.

They had not spoken since the fight.

"She is not going to survive without us. Worry will kill her before winter does" Kayla said as she walked next to him. The Urgal rider was in front of them and the dwarf in the back, watching over the eggs and the purple dragon as they had both been put in the carriage and a black, muscled horse was carrying it.

He did not like his sister's words and hoped she wasn't right. He still hated that the dragon riders had declined bringing his mother to their community.

_She would have been safer there…_

Tristan felt his dragon's consciousness nudge his own and he watched as the dragon made attempts to fly. He gave up quickly, however, as a bee circling a yellow flower had sparked his interest.

The dragon was jumping up and down trying to catch the bee and was very irritated when he couldn't get to it. He was chasing it around and run to Tristan's knees when the bee decided to fly up and sting him on the shoulder.

Tristan yelled, startled, feeling the bee's sting sink deep inside his flesh and the poison spreading. The bee fell on the ground, its intestines sprawled on the green grass. It tried to move for a few minutes, struggling to change its fate but it died regardless.

"I thought dragon riders did not get bitten by bees. This is unfair. I think someone should change the rules" Tristan commented and shook his head to the Kull and Kayla who had rushed to his side.

"We are not above nature, we are one with nature. Remember this, both of you" Stoic said, his tone solemn.

"Why is everyone so serious? I am the one in pain, here" Tristan commented and smiled, his dragon at his side licking his wound. The Urgal shook his head, annoyed, obviously not used to his sense of humour yet.

"Waise heill, Be healed!" he whispered instead, the sparks of magic flying from his hand and landing on Tristan's wound.

After this their journey was uneventful and they were steadily approaching Dras Leona, which was the meeting point with the other four riders. On their third night, they stopped near a hill where not much life was present and set camp. His dragon had just eaten a fox while the purple was devouring everything that was given to it. The dragons were not of a similar size, with the purple being slightly bigger than his own.

Tristan had thought of a vast array of names for his dragon but nothing seemed to do the trick, just yet. He was also worried that his dragon was not flying and was instead walking everywhere but the riders had reassured him that sometimes it took dragons more than a week to fly.

Tristan was lying inside a tent, the dragon's breath warming his skin from the night's chill. He could hear the riders talking as they had been set the task of keeping watch. His sister was sleeping in another tent and he could hear the purple's wails but he tried to ignore them as he had done so in previous nights.

Suddenly all noises were silenced, even his heartbeat and breath and a feeling of dread was settling over him. Cold sweat was running down his brow and suddenly his dragon jumped up and hissed.

He moved slowly and gazed outside of his tent just as a gigantic dark creature was approaching the carriage where the eggs and the purple were. A dark brown dragon attacked the creature before it was able to get to them and the two riders were already in alert.

"Garjzla. Light!" the dwarven rider shouted as bright light exploded from his hands and the dark creature hissed as another one of its kin approached their camp. Without a second thought Tristan picked up a sword from near his tent. His heart was beating very fast, its sound echoing in his ears and adrenaline was rushing to his limbs. His dragon stood next to him, teeth bared.

The Urgal rider jumped on his dragon, quick and started landing blows on the dark creature but it seemed as if they didn't have much effect. The dwarf's dragon fell from the skies just then, viciously attacking the other creature. He saw fire blazing from its jaw and setting almost everything alight.

"It's a shadow wyrm!" the Kull shouted and kept attacking the creature. Every time dragon and wyrm met the earth shook as if an earthquake was taking place.

Tristan wasn't sure what to do as there was no enemy to fight left for him and even if he did, he doubted his skills would be good enough or his dragon large enough to match the shadow wyrm's advances.

Instead he decided to find his sister and try to protect the dragon eggs but as soon as he reached the place where they had put the carriage, he realised with horror that it and her was gone.


	11. A new moon

**A New Moon**

Kayla had her leather pouch covering her ears struggling to drown the annoying tingling at the edge of her consciousness. Three days they had been on the road and she had not slept more than 5 hours in total. It wasn't just the consciousness of the reptile that was driving her insane but also its constant wailings throughout the night.

The animal was rabid, that she knew, and even if her brother and the riders said otherwise, they did not understand. She sighed annoyed as she tried to put the pouch at the back of her head, like a pillow. Sweat was running down the hollows of her back even though there was a chill in the night.

She tried to put her barriers higher up but the stupid reptile still managed to get inside, although not completely. Kayla breathed loudly and then suddenly felt her heart stop, the hairs on her arms rising.

The purple dragon wailed and nudged at her consciousness, an almost blurry image reaching her but she ignored it.

_Stop it!,_ she shouted angrily in her mind not sure if the creature understood or not but it did stop.

Silence prevailed, a silence that was unnatural, a silence that was eerie and rather horrifying.

_Blood. Crunch. Bones._

The air returned to her lungs and she shook her head angrily trying to clear it from all thoughts. No, this was not the time to remember.

She heard a loud noise outside and the purple dragon let out another scream. Her temples burned. She walked outside of her tent and saw a creature, the same one that had attacked them in the Brasungr festival descending quickly towards their camp.

"Shadow wyrm!" someone shouted and the word felt familiar as she remembered reading something about it in one of the books. The creature had another name which evaded her but she knew it was connected to dark magic…

_Bones. Blood. Crunch__._

What was happening?

She shivered and thought of running away and hiding, but she knew that this would only make her a moving target.

Just then she saw a dark humanoid figure approaching the eggs and purple. It was stealing the eggs and the riders had no idea, busy trying to fight off the shadow wyrms. Purple wailed trying to send her another distorted image but she blocked it.

Kayla watched as the figure slit the throat of the black horse so quickly, that the animal didn't even have time to yell and then the carriage rose in the air and quickly started moving into the night. She followed closely behind, trying not to alert the creature of her presence.

She felt purple's fury once again trying to break through her defenses and for a second an idea sprung into her mind, an idea she wasn't very proud of thinking.

The creature wanted to take the eggs and purple, probably somewhere far away, where her connection with purple would be all but non-existent. Maybe the creature would even kill purple and then she would be free, all her problems gone.

Should she just let it go?

The carriage and creature were already lost from her sight, most likely deep inside the forest, but she could still feel purple's presence. If it died it wouldn't be her fault.

Feelings of danger, rage and wildness emitted from the dragon as well as something else.

Something like… Terror? Betrayal?

Her heart clutched inside her chest and when she heard purple's wails again she made her choice.

_Just leave me alone!, _she shouted with such force into the creature's mind that suddenly all was silent.

Satisfied, Kayla continued forward, deeper into the forest following the trail of broken trees that had been left behind. The humanoid creature and the carriage were moving fast, true, but she had always loved the feeling of running. She sprung into the night, the cold wind blowing on her face, numbing her cheeks and managed to catch up with them just as they paused near a fast flowing river.

The humanoid creature heard her approaching and hissed, just as purple was struggling to break the wooden bars of its cage. The creature gazed at her, the hairs on her arms rising, but she could only see its red eyes behind the dark cloak and nothing else.

"How curious to see one such as you here" it whispered and let out a terrifying laugh.

_Bones. Blood. Crunch._

_Don't think about it! Not now!,_ she screamed at herself but the creature was saying something quick under its breath, dark magic springing forth and she felt as if her insides were boiling. Tears reached her eyes and she wanted to scream but couldn't. The dragon wailed.

"You should not have followed me" the creature hissed and just as Kayla felt her strength abandoning her, everything she was and wanted to be, starting to fade into nothingness, she heard a loud noise and saw woods and splinters falling on the creature just as the dragon attacked the thief.

Purple growled, its teeth bare and the creature started circling the dragon cautiously as sparks of dark magic attacked it. She felt too weak to pay the right amount of attention, but she could hear the noises of fighting and could feel purple's emotions as if they were her own, terror and a fierce need to protect. Every time a blow landed on purple she winced.

Suddenly purple was on the ground, smoke rising from its nostrils, as it tried to desperately move away from the knife's sharp edge that the creature was pushing against its throat.

She felt the dragon's helplessness, and rage rose inside her like nothing else before. The reptile would die if she did nothing. Kayla remembered Stoic's warning but at the moment she had no other choice.

"Risa!" she shouted, her right hand extended, the Gedwey Ignasia symbol glowing like the stars as the water from the river that flowed only a few meters away from her, rose.

Her temples were on fire, her hand was shaking, her limbs felt dead but the water rose to take the shape of a giant dragon and it crushed on the humanoid creature with such force that the earth momentarily shook.

Kayla saw the creature falling on the ground, the dragon flying above it as it viciously attacked and pecked its eyes, snarling noises emitting from it. If the force of the water had not killed the creature she was certain the reptile would.

She lay on the wet ground, water still flowing in the river, looking at the sky above her, as the new moon was hiding between grey-blue clouds. She felt lethargic, her heart beating slowly, as if every beat was a struggle.

Momentarily she saw the clouds parting and light from the moon fell on her as the purple dragon was walking towards her.

Purple?

How blind she had been! The dragon was not purple but something far more beautiful, having a unique colour she could not exactly describe. Its eyes were violet and its body was a greyish-amethyst colour, its wings like liquid silver that sparkled brightly in the moon's light

There was no more energy left in her to keep her mind's barriers up and the dragon's consciousness easily slipped into her own, emotions of concern and affection radiating from it.

_Blood. Protect._

It gently touched with its muzzle her right hand, a serious expression on its face.

_Protect,_ her dragon whispered into her mind just as blackness enveloped her.

**Don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter and follow/fav, I promise it will only take a minute :p! Also are shorter and more frequent chapters better than longer and less frequent ones? Thanks for reading ****!**


	12. A High Cost

**A High Cost**

"The eggs are gone!" Tristan shouted loudly, hoping that the riders had heard him but they were high in the skies fighting the shadow wyrms. He felt agitated as adrenaline was moving fast inside his veins but he could do nothing to help.

The Urgal rider and his brown dragon fell from above as they were chasing one of the shadow wyrms which was steadily approaching Tristan. Just as a jet of dark liquid shot from the wyrm's mouth, he ducked to the side, pushing his dragon with him. Bright fire came out, rushing from the skies and Tristan almost got his elbow burned. He swore loudly just as Stoic landed a blow on the wyrm's chest, the liquid spilling all over the place, burning everything to ashes.

Tristan covered himself and his dragon with the material from the tent but holes started spreading quickly inside it.

"Blothr. Stop" the Kull rider shouted as he jumped from his dragon's back onto the ground and the liquid from the wyrm seemed to disappear. His brown dragon rose into the sky chasing the remaining shadow wyrm with the help of the dwarven rider.

"It was a distraction!" Stoic roared, cursing loudly under his breath and spitting blood on the ground, realising that the dragon eggs were missing.

Tristan went to say something but then heard a noise from above and looked up to see the remaining wyrm falling with an incredibly fast speed to the where he was. His dragon wailed, thoughts of alarm and helplessness radiating from it and then sternness. Its silvery wings opened, flapping steadily on the ground and the dragon rose up, flying to Tristan's direction.

With its sharp talons it grabbed Tristan's shoulder and pushed him further away, just as the wyrm's jaws brushed his leather boots. The dwarven rider delivered the killing blow but Stoic had already said the words of the ancient language to stop the liquid from spreading around.

As his blue dragon gently put him on the ground Tristan could feel satisfaction coursing through the bond and proudly he rubbed the dragon's head as it was still flying in the air. His shoulders hurt from where the dragon had accidentally sliced him but he ignored them and went to examine the creature that now lay dead in front of him.

"What is this?" he asked silently the riders and his dragon snarled.

"Sundavrlaka… I hate those things!" the dwarf said and spit on the ground.

"I told you Melor! We should have brought the magicians and the elves with us!" the Urgal shouted and tapped his foot on the ground, looking sternly at the other rider.

"The magicians and the elves were weary, their energy reserves drained and they had to look after the injured in the Arhan village. If we had brought them with us they would have died" Melor's answer was and scratched whatever remained of his red beard.

"But now the eggs are missing, our dragons are injured…" the Urgal started saying but Tristan stopped him.

"Kayla is missing as well" he said in a solemn tone.

Both riders turned their attention to him. Melor smiled.

"I don't think that's something to be happy about… Sure, maybe a month ago I would have been ecstatic but…" Tristan started saying but the Urgal stopped him.

"It's very possible that your sister is with the eggs right at this moment. If we can find her, we can find the eggs" he said and both riders closed their eyes, in concentration.

After only a few seconds they snapped them open.

"I can feel the remnants of dark magic, they are close" Stoic said and let out a deep breath.

"Have you ever flown before, boy?" Melor asked him, his expression curious. Tristan rose his eyebrows.

"Flown? I don't think …" he started, bewildered but was cut mid-sentence as Melor's dragon spoke into his mind.

_Young one, get on my back. You may call me Gijnard_, the dragon said, his colour a light brown with orange highlights and his voice, deep and throaty. As peculiar as that was, it was the first time he had had direct contact with an older dragon and he was momentarily stunned. His own dragon, nudged his shoulder, as it was flying excited all around, happy with its newfound ability.

_Thank you, Gijnard_, he replied in the older dragon's mind not certain if he was acknowledging him properly.

"I cannot sense her entirely but I think I know where she might be" the Kull said and jumped onto his own dragon without further due. Tristan sat just behind Melor and his grey-blue dragon followed them as they rose into the skies. In other circumstances he might have enjoyed the experience, but his nerves were as tight as strings, scared for the eggs, scared for his sister.

_There, do you see?,_ the Urgal rider asked, speaking in their minds and pointing at a cloud of water.

_What is it_?, Melor asked and descended cautiously.

_Let's find out._

Tristan was still alarmed, hoping that nothing bad had befallen his sister or the eggs so he resisted the urge to make a joke about hearing voices in his head. Even though he had been three days with the riders, most of this time he had spent with his own dragon and was pleasantly surprised to be suddenly included in the group.

As the dragons landed carefully on the wet ground the riders jumped easily from their back and landed on their feet. Tristan tried to copy what they had done but failed and instead landed on his palms and knees.

Mud covered his hands and he noticed that the ground was wet.

His left palm with the Gedwey Ignasia symbol tingled, as they started steadily approaching the place they had seen from above.

Instinct told him to be careful and silent, but then his breath caught between his lungs as he saw his sister lying still, next to a dark blue fast-running river.

"Kayla!" he shouted and went to run to her side but the Urgal rider rose a hand in the air.

"Wait, it's not safe!" he shouted at him and pointed at the dark, hooded figure that also lay still close to the river.

The Urgal approached slowly and then nudged the figure with his sword but it did not move. He turned the figure around and swore.

_Check on the girl_, Stoic told them both as he went to examine the creature more closely.

Tristan run to his sister's side but just before he got to her, he noticed the purple dragon curled inside her hand. When it sensed their presence, it got up and hissed.

His grey-blue dragon stepped in front of Tristan and curled its lips upwards, showing the sharp array of white teeth.

_We mean no harm_, the dwarven rider said and spoke to everyone's mind. Purple seemed to consider this and then let Melor examine Kayla, while still sitting near her. Tristan knelt to her side.

Her hair was plastered to her forehead, her skin was pale-white and he could not see her chest rising. His heart tightened inside his chest, as he gently moved her blonde hair back.

He watched as Melor touched her wrists and throat to check for a heart-beat but Tristan could tell that the dwarf had not felt any change.

"She is not…" Tristan begun to say unable to finish the sentence as he choked on the word dead at the end, moisture clouding his vision.

"No. Not yet at least" the rider replied and took a deep breath, closed his eyes and his brows were pulled together in concentration.

"Waise heill. Be healed!" he said under his breath and he kept repeating the word until his left hand glowed silver.

Tristan watched the dwarf trying to heal Kayla, as once again he was feeling hopeless.

He had thought that becoming a dragon rider would make him overcome certain obstacles but he realised that he had done nothing to help against the attack tonight. He felt his dragon's head prodding against his ribs and thoughts of calmness and reassurance enveloped him.

When he saw his sister's chest rising, he let out a sigh of relief. The purple dragon went to stand next to her once more and the dwarf sat back against the ground, looking exhausted.

"I knew it. I should have expected it with the appearance of the shadow wyrms" the Urgal said fuming as he approached them and shook his head angrily.

"Shade?" Melor asked, taking a deep drink of water from his water-skin.

Stoic nodded.

"A young one as well. Couldn't have been more than a week's old" he said in disgust.

Tristan looked back to where the body of the creature, the Shade, stood. Indeed the Shade very much resembled a young human boy if not for the slightly red hair and eyes and the extremely pale skin.

"Is he dead?" Tristan asked and Stoic nodded.

"The dragon sliced his chest open and shred its heart to pieces" he replied and as Tristan looked behind him once more, he saw what he had missed before. Even though the Shade's face was mostly intact, its upper body was non-existent. Blood, gut, entrails and other things Tristan did not want to think about were splattered on the wet ground.

"Do you think he turned himself and was a sorcerer before?" Tristan asked but both riders shook their heads.

"Doubtful. For shadow wyrms to be summoned you would have needed an experienced sorcerer or Shade and he was but a youngling turned. Look at his eyes, hair, skin colour and build? They are still not completely red, his skin still holds the signs of sun and there is baby fat under his chin and cheeks. No, the boy was but a pawn and I am afraid something else is holding the reigns" the Urgal rider said, his brows pulled together.

"I do not like this. Too many Shades and dark forces are gathering" the dwarf replied, some of the colour returning to his cheeks , a sign of resentment and no doubt of the drink he was holding in his hand which smelled alcoholic.

Stoic nodded and walked to gather the eggs. The rider cursed loudly as he noticed something, the dragons present suddenly becoming agitated and growling.

Tristan stood up to see what the commotion was about and noticed that the two eggs that had been damaged in the last attack, now stood broken in pieces and the creatures they harboured inside, dead.

A feeling of anger, helplessness and disgust rose inside him, both his own and his dragon and he puked on the side.

"How could someone do this?" he shouted, angrily just as his dragon went to examine the dead dragons' bodies, gently sniffing them.

Melor sighed.

"I thought dragon eggs were indestructible" Tristan commented, infuriated.

"Not from everything, that is. Although I doubt the Shade wanted to damage them. Dragon eggs are a lot more precious intact… But I do not doubt his dark magic played a role, even if by accident" the rider said and exhaled loudly as well.

There was a deep sorrow in the dwarf's eyes and he got up and went to stand next to the two eggs.

He recited some unknown words in his deep, baritone voice and a single tear run down his red cheeks. His orange dragon blew fire on the Shade and the dead hatchlings and the riders watched silently as the smoke rose high, burning away the injustice and sorrow. Warmth reached Tristan's cheek, uncontrollable tears running down his cheek and his blue dragon flew to his shoulder to lick them away.


	13. Dras Leona

**Dras Leona**

"Dras Leona is three days away on foot but I do not want to risk it. Our dragons are tired but I would feel safer if we rode them to the city and then rested once we met with the other riders. We should be able to get to the city before dark" Melor said, his expression thoughtful, as he looked at the rising sun on the east.

Arhan village was only a little ways south of Teirm but it was still a week's trip on foot to Dras Leona. Flying on dragon-back after the events that had occurred, did indeed sound like a better alternative to Tristan. For some reason he felt a lot safer being on dragon-back. However, he was a little bit disappointed as he had never seen Leona Lake from up close and flying would rob him of the chance to swim in its clear blue waters.

The grey-blue dragon next to him squeaked in amusement. They had yet to communicate with words but emotions and images were just as good and Tristan saw the blurred outline of an island. He laughed, earning the bewildered look of Melor as he settled on Gijnard's back and shook his head.

_You are right, we are going to an island. There should be more than enough water there!,_ he told the dragon and then realised he had yet to name it. He repeated some names to the grey-blue creature but it was not interested in any of them so it settled on his shoulder and closed its eyes.

Kayla was still unconscious and so they had to strap her on Stoic's dragon. Someone suggested building another cage for purple but the dragon was behaving itself, silent most of the times and always near his sister so they quickly turned down this thought.

Before midday Tristan could already see the Lake ahead of them. He kneeled at the edge of Gijnard's back, careful not to injure himself against the dragon's sharp orange thorns, in order to get a closer look at it. Its waters seemed to extend for miles and they were crystal clear and calm, very much resembling a mirror. Tristan looked down and saw himself and the dragons reflected. The image was blurry but his hair looked longer, his skin browner, his body lean and muscled, his ears looked pointy… Bewildered, he looked away from the distorted image.

When the sun started lowering on the horizon, Tristan could feel the dragons reducing their speed, their breath coming out louder and each flap of their wings seemed to be a struggle.

_Less than twenty miles away is the Lake's edge. Dras Leona is only a few minutes ride after that. We are almost there_, the Urgal said encouragingly in all their minds.

Tristan did not doubt that if the dragons had not fought the previous night and were carrying less weight they would not have tired so quickly. When he saw Leona Lake's shores he let out a sigh of relief. They continued a few miles after the shores until they saw the city's walls coming into view and they descended on a flat green surface. From there on, it was only a few minutes' walk until they reached Dras Leona's gates. The guards acknowledged the riders without a second glance and they casually walked in from the main gates.

What Tristan saw inside was completely different to anything he had expected. He had never visited a city, true, but this place seemed to be teeming with people running around, going about their business, selling, entertaining, laughing and crying.

There was a stand in front of him with bread sticks being sold and he saw a small boy trying to grab one. He watched patiently as the boy hid around the corner, as less visible as possible and then like a snake, attacked by extending its hand and grabbing the bread stick. By the time the man behind the table stand noticed the missing bread stick the boy was lost from their sight.

"Is there a celebration happening or something?" Tristan couldn't help but ask just as a magician stood in front of him and blew fire from his mouth. The fire disintegrated into smoke but the smoke stood in the air a little bit longer than expected and he realised that there was a message written.

_Tonight. 7. City square. Prepare to be amazed. _

The smoke blew from his view and the dwarven rider coughed.

"It is the continuation of the Brasungr festival but there are always celebrations and markets around such a large city" the dwarf answered and as Tristan looked around him, he realized it was true.

The city was massive. It must have been at least ten times bigger than his village. The walls stood high, concealing the outside world and encircling the tall white-okra buildings. As he was walking further inside he realised that the planning of Dras Leona very much resembled a labyrinth. The difference was, though, that if you followed the main road and went towards your right you would slowly approach the centre whereas if you went from your left you would go towards the outside. There were smaller roads going straight through the circle rather than around it, but Tristan wasn't sure he wanted to walk these roads alone as he was afraid he would get lost. With the help of the riders and their dragons, however, they managed to move quickly in a straight line as people moved back to make room for them. He often heard the riders being praised, names of riders he knew and didn't know being called.

"Greet the new riders!" someone shouted and blew another whiff of that fire-smoke thing that left a message in the air before it disappeared.

"What is this? Can you teach me how to do this?" Tristan asked excited and turned to the closest person next to him.

Unfortunately it was the Urgal who looked at him through slit yellow eyes, his pointy teeth slightly protruding from his lips.

Melor let out a deep throaty laugh. Tristan hadn't heard him laugh since they found the two dragon eggs destroyed.

"It's a storytelling of sorts but far more interesting, which occurs in the city square near sundown. The "magicians" here with the fire messages are no more than witches or wizards. The fire message is a simple enough trick to do if you have the right means and wizards are the masters of trickery" he finished.

Curiosity emitted from his dragon through their bond as he lazily walked and flew to his side. He gently nudged Tristan's shoulder and he turned to Melor.

"Can we go?" he asked, not sure if he would be granted something like this. The dwarf went to say something but Stoic shook his head angrily, his dragon blowing whiffs of smoke.

"How young and naïve you are! Haven't you been taught anything?" the Urgal asked in a furious tone and his eyebrows pulled together.

"I thought that once we were inside the city we would be safer…" he started but the rider cut him mid-sentence. He grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him to a nearby wall. Tristan's grey-blue dragon stood next to him, hissing and Melor put a restraining hand in front of the boy's face.

"We are dragon riders. We are never safe! You would do well to remember that!" the Kull shouted one more time, his ram horns looking as if they could crush Tristan's skull just by a single nudge. The boy nodded, slightly perplexed and annoyed, and then the rider released him and he almost dropped to the ground.

His dragon run to his side, licking his shoulder in a calm demeanour and he watched silently as Stoic walked further ahead.

Melor helped him up.

"I am sorry boy. This trip has taken a harder toll than anticipated and we are all on edge. Stoic is right, however. We are not safe"


	14. Dragon Games

**A/N: This chapter is more a continuation of the previous one as I did not want to post something too long. Thanks for the great reviews and your support and if you have any comments good/bad feel free to post them as a review or pm me and I will reply :)! **

**Dragon Games**

When they reached the city centre where the palace stood Tristan was in a fool mood. Tall pine trees circled the building in front of them, exotic colourful flowers and bushes grew in and around, and the palace itself was a place of beauty. Despite himself he let out a whistle of appreciation. The gates of the palace opened in order to greet them and they passed structures much taller than the dragons until they reached the centre which was an open garden. Again, Tristan realised the architecture of the palace was one of a circle, with buildings built all around to give way to the open yard.

Individual structures were also built to accommodate dragons-no more than ten-and there were stables for steeds and mounts. Already two dragons stood inside those structures, happily gulping down water. As soon as they heard them approaching, the elder dragons paused and walked forward. They stared at the group no doubt examining the wounds of the other two dragons and growled loudly when they stared at the three eggs that were strapped on Gijnard's back.

"Hellsfire!" the female human rider bellowed as she run to Melor's side and gently touched his dragon's scales which were damaged and dirty. The elven rider watched carefully and he pressed his lips tightly together.

Stoic and Melor unstrapped Kayla from the other dragon's back and the human rider took the eggs gently in her lap, tears running down her face. The elf put a comforting hand on her shoulder and then walked to Kayla's side. Tristan approached them as well, his blue dragon sniffing the air inquiringly.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" he dared ask, as he gazed at the still form of his sister.

The elf knelt on the ground and touched Kayla's brow. He was deep in concentration for a long time until he exhaled loudly and opened his eyes.

"She is alive but… I do not know when she will wake. The magic she used took quite a hard toll on her body. We warned her about the consequences but she did not listen" he said and pressed his lips even tighter together than before. The purple dragon let out a small wail and gently nudged its head against Kayla's hipbones.

"At least _that_ has improved" the elf commented as a group of magicians and other elves came to carry his sister, taking her to a nearby wooden structure in the middle of the garden. The elven and human rider stood next to the injured dragons and started reciting words of the ancient language together. Holes in the wing membranes of the dragons healed, the skin stitching itself back together and cuts were dried blood stood, were wiped clean. Soon Gijnard and Stoic's dragon were as good as new and they walked inside their individual structures where water and roast meat stood.

The aroma of the food reached Tristan's nose and he heard his stomach growling. He watched as the two dragons devoured the cuts of meat, bones, skin and ligaments disappearing from his view. His grey-blue dragon sniffed, hunger radiating from it and its tongue was pulled out on the side.

The riders walked close to a water fountain in the centre of the garden and they sat on the green, cool ground, resting their backs and washing their faces on the cold water. Tristan repeated what they had done but his dragon slipped from the fountain's edge and fell inside the water. Amusement radiated from it and it jumped out of the water, shaking its wings and spraying everyone with water droplets.

Tristan smiled and rubbed his dragon's chin, a purring sound emitting from it and the creature half closed its eyes.

"Is this you dragon?" a small voice came from behind and Tristan turned around to look who it was. A young dwarven boy stood, no more than 14 years of age. He reached Tristan's waist in height and he had bright ginger hair. His cheeks were round and red and some ginger fluff covered the sides. He had a clever expression fixed upon his face.

"Yes, yes it is" Tristan replied proudly and rubbed his dragon's belly once again as the creature emitted more pouring sounds.

"My dragon, Fiord is there in the corner" the dwarf boy said pointing at an orange dragon, four times the size of Tristan's who sat near the fountain, drinking water. "Your dragon is beautiful. Isn't his colour similar to Saphira's? How you do call him?"

"I wouldn't know, I have never seen the elder dragon. And as for a name I have yet to come up with something suitable. Besides he is still young and doesn't like sharing his opinion with words just yet" Tristan replied and tsked. His dragon rolled on the side and shot him a perplexed look.

The dwarf laughed.

"Neither have I, but rumours and stories travel. As for a name I am sure you will find something. What is yours?"

"I am Tristan. And you are…?"

"I am Rikon Sulfurcarver" the boy replied and Tristan took an instant liking to him.

Twilight had already approached and the palace's servants set table stands and chairs in the middle of the garden. Soon, the aroma of fresh and cooked food reached Tristan's nose and his stomach growled despite himself. He had been sited between Rikon and his grey-blue dragon and when the first cold cuts of meat arrived, the dragons snatched them before the boys even had a chance to look at them. They shared glances and started laughing.

More food was served and this time the dragons gave them the chance to eat first. As soon as Tristan went to grab a stuffed pigeon pie he saw a purple blur descending and the food disappeared from his hands only to appear into purple's talons.

"Tskk. Manners, dragons, manners. What will the fair ladies think of us?" he said and smiled, feeling almost content. He had not forgotten of his sister, who was unconscious or his mother who probably sat alone in their cottage watching the fire flames or the two young dragons who had died for naught but for a moment he allowed himself not to worry.

While he was happily spooning big mouthfuls of some mushroom stew, chatting with Rikon about their adventures and how the dragons had hatched for them, he saw another figure approaching. Tristan could not exactly place the race or the age of the man. He probably extended six feet in height but his body was lean as an elf's apart from maybe his shoulders which were slightly bigger. He had horns above his ears but by no means did they look like an Urgal's. Urgals had ram's horns, curved inside in a spiral, while the man's horns were straight and pointy in the ends, almost like baby goat's horns. There was a dragon that walked by his side, the size of a horse and he had a black-brown colour with highlights of some sort, but the dim lighting from the torches did not help to discern much else.

The young rider nodded in acknowledgement to the elder riders, who despite the food and wine still looked solemn, and then walked to where Tristan and Rikon were. He sat opposite them, looking on the table, his demeanour contained.

Rikon raised his eyebrows at him. Tristan cleared his throat and started playing with a fork that was close by. An uncomfortable silence prevailed until he decided to make the first move.

"So… I am Tristan. I guess you are the other rider?"

"I am Laer. And this is my dragon Onyx but I thought there was a forth rider?" the young rider replied, perplexed.

"Yeah, my sister but she is rather occupied at the moment. Some sort of spell took too much of her strength and she is recovering now. Long story, too many details, you wouldn't want to know" Tristan tried to say lightly, smiling, but his heart twisted just a little.

Laer nodded and proceeded to take a bite from the food that was served in front of him giving big amounts to his black dragon, who did not, however, grab the food like it was his last day in Alagaesia and was rather contained. Tristan took it as a sign of the dragon's older age. He was probably two months old and had passed the hatchling stage, entering into puberty now.

Tristan watched carefully as Laer's lips curled upwards while he ate and he noticed that his teeth had an edge to them and were sharper than a human's or elf's. He kneeled forward, just as his grey-blue dragon flew to Onyx's direction and started sniffing him curiously.

"So how old are you?" Tristan asked him.

"I became seventeen years of age two moons ago" the young rider replied. Tristan nodded and smiled, noticing the youth of the man's skin.

"And what exactly are you?" he asked again and Rikon next to him let out a loud whistle of exasperation. Laer looked taken aback just as his black dragon growled and the grey-blue dragon flew to Tristan's side, alarmed.

The young rider sighed and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"I would prefer not talking of my past unless it's absolutely necessary. Why don't you tell me about your lives instead?" he asked politely and Tristan nodded although he was more than curious to find out what Laer was hiding. He drunk a glass of sweet wine the likes of which he had never tasted before and he soon felt light-headed.

He and Rikon started talking about their experiences with an easy air and Laer joined in to make comments and laugh at their jokes. Before long, midnight had approached and Tristan was feeling exhausted but satisfied, as he had food in his belly, more friends than before and a place to rest.

The young dragons had moved away from the table with the food and were now near the fountain, play-fighting. Fiord and his blue dragon were prodding each other with their paws while flying. Onyx would watch close by and he would rise in the air and join in the fight every so often. The dragons started having a race of sorts, testing their abilities to their limits. Which dragon would fly higher, which dragon would fly longer, which dragon would fly faster, which dragon would run faster...

Satisfaction, excitement and amusement coursed from his dragon and Tristan smiled happily. Just then he noticed purple gently approaching the young riders and suspiciously sniffing the area. Purple flew to the direction of the other dragons and the creatures noticing its appearance started circling each other, trying to determine their intentions. Tristan watched as his blue dragon started flying high and fast into the skies and the remaining dragons soon followed.

He was no longer the only one watching, as everyone's attention, including elder dragons', servants', magicians' and riders', had shifted to the skies.

His blue dragon was leading the way, making intricate turns and twists, once going higher, once lower, then faster, then turned direction all together to fly in circles around the garden, palace and city of Dras Leona. It was a sight of beauty to behold with the dragons' unique colours, but they were becoming a blur and vertigo coursed through Tristan as his eyes, head and body struggled to keep up with the race.

This game was testing the dragons' abilities, their strength, agility, canning and speed.

Suddenly it was clear that the race was coming to an end, as his blue rose high and then dropped in an alarming speed, with the remaining dragons following suit.

Everyone watched, holding their breath and stepping back from the middle of the garden. Just before Tristan thought the dragons would fall to their deaths, they took a turn upwards, flew around in a circle and landed near the fountain. Water sprayed everyone as Onyx's tail fell in the water and Tristan could see the dragons panting, moisture glittering on their scales but satisfaction radiated from all of them.

He had no idea which dragon had won but smugness emitted from his dragon and then a crystal clear image reached his mind which showed the end of the race. Blue and Purple had been fighting for first place with Onyx closely behind and Fiord trying to catch up to them. It had been very close but in the end his dragon had won with the rest coming behind him.


	15. Vertigo

**Vertigo**

Someone clapped and then everyone in the garden was cheering or growling. Tristan smiled wider and exchanged glances with the other two young riders.

"Mighty Gods, this is by far one of the best things I have seen in my life!" Rikon bellowed excitedly.

"And there are more to come…" promised Laer and smiled as well.

Just as the cheering came to an end the human rider stood up from her chair and whistled loudly.

"I am sure you must all be tired from the long trip and the even longer night you have just had, but as riders, we need to discuss a few matters before we head to bed. Sleeping arrangements have already been made and you can sleep close to your dragons near the garden. The servants will lead you to your rooms but for now join me" she said and she walked inside a big room.

Tristan followed closely behind and watched Purple fly to the wooden structure, no doubt to check upon his sister. His steps took him to a marble room and in the middle stood a long heavy oak table. He took a sit on one of the chairs and Laer and Rikon joined him. The elder riders were already there.

The human rider took a long deep breath and then started.

"For those of you who do not know me" she started and paused looking pointedly at Tristan who rose his hands in the air apologetically and smiled "I am Ingrid. As elder riders we believe that including the young riders in the assembly is very important so that they can appreciate the situation and do not repeat previous mistakes. I do not wish to ruin your good mood but there are things I need to warn you about. There have been various attacks all over the land of Alagaesia. We did not want to believe it at first but there's no denying it. There is something out there that is threatening both us and the inhabitants of Alagaesia. Young Shades appear out of nowhere, shadow wyrms keep catching us unawares…" she was saying but Rikon cut her mid-sentence.

"What are shadow wyrms?" he said out loud, interrupting her and she shot him an almost annoyed expression. He looked on the floor and his cheeks flushed, turning into an even deeper red colour.

Ingrid sighed.

"We are not entirely sure. You might remember them being mentioned as Sundavrblaka. We think they are dark spirits of some sort. Durza the Shade was using one in his fight against Eragon-Saphira and they appear quite often in Vroengarg. They seem to be attracted to magic and they prefer the dark. They are strong, very strong and hard to kill. If they are spirits indeed, then a blow that would be fatal to a dragon, might only temporarily disembody them" she said and paused once again.

Tristan took all this new information in and realised with horror that the two shadow wyrms he had thought dead in the forest, could soon reappear. He shivered at the thought and dreaded the black liquid that burned everything to ashes.

"The plan is to rest here for a few days, regain our strength and then set of. We cannot guarantee that the trip will be safe and you are expected to be careful at all times. Do not use magic or any other fighting means just yet, since you have seen what happened to the young girl who did. If a threat does indeed appear you are expected to stay inside and wait for us to deal with it. Once we reach the island your training will commence and you should at least be safe there" Ingrid finished.

Rikon and Laer looked worried, Stoic looked angry and the elf kept pressing his lips together.

The hairs on Tristan's arms rose and he thought of his mother and friends in Arhan all alone and helpless…

"But we are doing something to fight against it, right? We can't leave the people in Alagaesia unprotected!" Tristan said and he felt adrenaline pumping in his body once again, demanding him to move, to do something…

"Measures have already been taken and the races will soon be informed. Do not worry, Alagaesia is not without hope" Melor said gently and stroked his beard, which had started to grow again to a rather normal length.

Tristan let out a sigh of relief. The riders stood up and servants were waiting for them to take them back to their rooms.

His servant was a cute girl with light brown hair and freckles and Tristan was glad for the distraction. This would certainly let him forget his worries even for a little while. He smiled at her and she blushed.

"Do you enjoy working in the castle?" he asked her.

"Very much, young rider. Dras Leona used to be a horrible place just a few years back but with the return of the riders it is much better now"

"I better hope the people here are being kind to you… What is your name?"

"People here have been most kind. I am called Natalie. What should I call you?" the girl asked and blushed one more time. Tristan smiled.

"A lovely name you have. I am Tristan" he said and bowed, extending his arm in a dance-like movement. As they reached the door to his room he paused.

He had always been okay with girls - confident around them- and flirted with the ones he liked. If they turned him down that was that and he respected their decision. If not, he would try to be as pleasant and kind as possible, never leading them on.

As he looked down at Natalie however he was conflicted. He did not want to take advantage of the situation. Tristan knew that being a dragoon rider gave him a certain air of authority and maybe the girl did not want to insult him.

The decision was made for him because as soon as he opened the door he saw smoke rising from somewhere in Dras Leona and then disappearing. He run to the window, which overlooked the garden and let out a breath of amazement.

"What is this?" he asked and Natalie followed close behind. She smiled knowingly.

"Storytelling. But far more exciting!" the girl said pointing at another whiff of fire and smoke that took the shape of the dragon. Tristan let out a loud whistle of appreciation just as the smoke changed shape and became a large black shadow creature.

"Razak?" he asked and the girl nodded. The smoke took various shapes and moved all the time, appearing as mountains and trees one time and then changing into dragons, skies and then big cities and war. At the same time Natalie was telling him the story of what he was seeing and he watched, with his breath held. It felt like he was reliving the moments that had shaped the lands of Alagaesia twenty years ago.

As the smoke disappeared into the horizon his blue dragon flew inside his room and licked his face. The girl giggled.

"Oh, come on you, we have talked about boundaries before, haven't we?" he asked his dragon but the creature only looked at him with an amused expression. Tristan exhaled noisily and rubbed the dragon under its chin until it purred.

Natalie smiled, gazing at his dragon and then sighed.

"I think that's my queue to leave. Goodnight young dragon rider" she said gently as she left Tristan's room. He stared after her, a smile playing at the edges of his lips, as smugness and curiosity emitted from his dragon. That night he slept well.

…..

He woke up late the next day, fully revitalised as the summer heat clung to his skin and made him sweat.

Tristan didn't do much that day or the next few days that followed but then again none of the riders seemed in the mood to do much either. They were instead, trying to rest and regain their lost power. Sometimes he would spar with Laer or Rikon depending on who was available and other times he would aimlessly walk around the palace and the garden with his blue dragon, trying to teach him new words. His sparring ability was almost equal to Laer's and he could easily beat the young dwarf, unless Rikon used a hammer. They started spending more time together and got to know each other better, which filled Tristan's empty hours but he still missed his sister. The elves and magicians present, had tried various means of waking her up but nothing seemed to work and she was still in that comatose state. Tristan had to wonder if he would ever talk to Kayla again. He had also searched to find Natalie but to his disappointment, he hadfailed.

By the time they left Dras Leona, his blue dragon had almost tripled in size and was of a similar height and build to a wolf. They crossed the lands of Alagaesia on dragon-back, following a southern path from the city. It was harder for the dragons to travel these distances with twice the weight, but they had all agreed that it was safer and quicker than being on foot. Before long they had passed the lands of Surda and had reached the seashores. The elder dragons took few resting trips when flying above land, but even then, they would not be able to cross the ocean and reach the island without any stops with that amount of weight.

There was a ship waiting for them in Reavatone in Surda and until he actually set foot on it, he had not realised he was leaving Alagaesia. The ship was large, aristocratic and looked to be of elven built. There were more than enough cabins for all the riders and there was even space for the young dragons and two elder dragons on the deck. Tristan guessed that the elder dragons would take turns in flying, patrolling the seas and then resting. He was still quite surprised by the fact that there had not been any attacks against them, but still, it did not stop him from being weary.

He gazed at the ropes that tied the ship to the port, the only thing that kept him close to Alagaesia and watched the sailors in the port untie them. Tristan's heart twisted realising it would be a long time before he came back and felt his dragon's consciousness comfort him. The blue dragon landed on the deck next to him, almost as big as a donkey now and licked his face with its rough tongue.

"And those were clean clothes before you got to them" Tristan said slightly annoyed and satisfaction coursed through the bond.

_I do try my best_.

Tristan rose his eyebrow as he heard a voice in his mind and he stared at the grey-blue creature, his mouth forming an O.

_So you can talk now?_

_Sometimes_, was the dragon's only reply as he flew upwards into the sky just as the ship set sail.

They moved slowly at first but they gained speed once they moved away from the port and the wind started blowing favourably in their direction. Tristan had been right about the elder dragons, as they took turns in flying and patrolling the seas, looking for potential threats and then resting on the deck with the younger dragons.

Sometimes, the young dragons would fly as well, testing their abilities to their limit and hunting for food. Their trip was pleasurable and even though it was the end of the summer and the sun was falling on their face all day, the wind blew and water droplets fell on their skin cooling them.

Tristan closed his eyes, smelling the fresh sea water and smiled in satisfaction.

_This is amazing!,_ he thought.

_I am amazing_, the dragon corrected, the second time he had spoken thus far, as he did intricate swirls between the clouds. It looked as if a mini tornado was happening.

Tristan didn't have time to comment on the dragon's remark, because vertigo coursed through him while he watched blue fly fast. He held a hand in front of his mouth, trying not to throw up at the side of the deck. This raised the concerned glances of Laer and Rikon but he put a hand in the air to show them that he was all right. He watched his dragon fly in the wind while Fiord was trying to catch up to him and Onyx and Purple were near the sea waters trying to catch fish and seagulls. Tristan sighed, realising something.

_You need a name_, he said in the dragon's mind.

_Probably._

_Would you like some suggestions?_

_Maybe_, his dragon's answer was and Tristan groaned in exasperation.

_Sometimes it's hard to communicate with you. _

_Thank you. _

Tristan couldn't help but laugh at the dragon's smugness and mischievous manners and he started repeating various names of dragons, riders, humans, dwarves and elves he had heard over the years but his dragon turned down every single one of them.

He was starting to give up, thinking he would never find a suitable name, until he gazed at the dragon's scales which glittered a beautiful silver-blue in the sun…

_Indigo?,_ he suggested but he did not like naming his dragon after a colour.

_Hmph._

_Something is missing?,_ he asked and the dragon agreed, flying high once again, spiralling and diving.

Vertigo coursed through Tristan once again and he run to the ship's deck just as the dragon dived to where he was, a set of black eyes looking at him intently, an amused expression playing on its lips.

_That's it_, the dragon said.

_That's what?_

_My name._

Tristan raised his eyebrows, perplexed, trying to figure out what the creature meant until…

_Vertigo?_

_Yes_, the dragon said, pleasure coursing through the bond and he jumped from the ship's deck to fly into the skies again.

Tristan smiled, satisfied and relieved, as he watched his dragon, Vertigo, getting lost between the clouds in a spiralling motion, his silver wings glowing in the bright sun.

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	16. Blood and Fire

**Blood and Fire**

Natalie woke up in the middle of the night and she did not know why. She had been tired enough – working all day in the palace did that to her –, she had been fed enough and she hadn't been drinking much before she went to bed. Then why was she up so early?

As if by themselves her legs moved and she stood up. Natalie started walking out of the servant dorms and towards the city gates. But it wasn't her that was doing so, her limbs were moving in their own accord and she had no say in the matter. Annoyed, she tried to turn around and walk back, but her body did otherwise.

The only thing she could do, was helplessly watch as she walked out of the city gates and towards a nearby forest. She saw a creature standing in the clearing of the dark green abyss, but it did not belong to any race she knew.

The creature was wearing a dark hood and she couldn't discern much, apart from its raised white arms which had intricate black designs on them.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you… Oh!" the creature bellowed and stopped abruptly what it was doing. Natalie was still not close enough to see what that was.

But just then, she saw a doe in its one arm and a shining knife on the other.

"Look at it! Its afraid" the creature spoke as if to itself and as the doe made a wailing noise the knife sliced its throat and the dead carcass fell on the wet, green ground.

"See? Not that painful after all, was it? Now, where were we? When the blazing sun is gone, when he nothing shines upon, then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle, all the night" the creature ended and let out a terrifying, sadistic laugh and licked the fresh blood from the knife's sharp edge.

Then its eyes fell on Natalie, who had just approached. It smiled, showing a white array of teeth.

"You were late… Age?" it asked in a calculating manner.

Natalie didn't want to answer, she wanted to turn around and start running but her lips started moving as if by themselves. Her heart beat faster inside her chest.

"I am sixteen years of age" she replied.

The creature clapped its hands.

"Splendid! How young, how beautiful… Forever young!" it said and grabbed Natalie's arms and pushed her on the ground.

The light from the stars, fell on the knife and she watched, helplessly as the creature pushed it against her heart and Natalie screamed.

…..

_Blood. Crunch. Bones._

Ice was everywhere and it was cold, so cold…

She wanted to scream, shout, cry, but her lips were sealed, her body not responding to her mind's commands.

_You went too far, little girl… Come out, come out wherever you are_. She heard a sadistic laugh and she trembled but was it her limbs or her mind?

_Crunch. Blood. Bones._

Icy white daggers pierced her heart. No! They were teeth!

A piercing set of eyes - the colour of blood - looked into her soul, making her feel unworthy, dirty, terrified and she wanted to peel her skin of, but couldn't.

Dark liquid splattered on the white, icy ground, painting everything red as a body fell to its death. Black, sharp talons were trying to catch her, torture and hurt her. She tried to slip away from their grasp but then large wings extended and the dragon caught her before she was able to run. Another merciless laugh echoed in her mind.

_Help!_

No one listened. No one cared.

_Guard yourself against all dangers…_

Black markings twisted around the arms of her intruder, like a snake and turned into the shape of eyes.

_How curious to see one such as you here._

_Who am I? Why me?_

_Kayla,_ a voice whispered into her unconsciousness with a worried tone and the name felt familiar and alien at the same time.

Trying to resist the intruders was taking all of her power, all of her will to live and she was tired, so tired.

_The sun is lost, your loved ones are gone._

Blue flowers lay on the white floor but as she went to pick them up, she realised that they were not blue but red. Her hands shook, blood dripped from them and they were cold, so cold.

She begged for warmth to return and when she saw flames rising she willingly walked to them. Blistering heat scorched her skin, burned her insides, smoke choked her but she was happy.

_Let them burn!,_ she cried, a sadistic smile playing at the edges of her lips.

…

"Hold her down!" a voice shouted but she could not see.

She was hot and cold at the same time and she could feel a constant blast of energy on her heart but she wanted to get away from it. Her arms withered and she felt like a fish outside of water.

This simple movement resulted in her strength abandoning her and she fell into unconsciousness.

…..

When she next woke up, her breathing was slow and measured. She felt weak, true, but at least the burning sensation and energy blast had subsided. Her limbs were cold - almost frozen - but she dared not move, afraid she might lose herself in the land of spirits and terrible visions.

Kayla sensed someone near her. It was hard to determine exactly who it was at first, but she knew his manner was controlled, his every movement a precise act.

_The elven rider_, her mind whispered. It surprised her that she still had the ability to think and gently, so gently she searched around. Somewhere in there, was the source of magic but she dared not go close to it and instead looked for something else, something like…

The consciousness of the dragon nudged her own lightly and she could feel some of its emotions but not clearly.

She neither recoiled nor did she acknowledge the presence, resolving to think upon it later.

Time was passing quick and soon Kayla decided to open her eyes. Very slowly she opened one eyelid and then the next. Bright light came rushing through and it took some time until she adjusted. She blinked a few times and saw that the rooftop was made of wood, as well as everything else inside her room and the room was moving in a rocking motion.

Gently, she tried to move her fingertips and when she felt them touch the bed clothing and then rise she decided to raise her whole arm. First her right and then her left, ever so slowly and then proceeded to move her back as well and using as less strength as possible, her upper body.

"How do you feel?" asked the elf next to her and she turned to look at him. He was studying carefully her movements and she took in a deep breath.

"Exhausted. Cold. Hungry" was her reply but moving her lips felt hard.

She was presented with a platter of food and she hungrily gazed at the grapes, apples, bread, carrots and cold cuts of meat. With her right hand she grabbed the grapes and when the tiny bubbles got in her mouth, their sweetness exploded, almost sending her into a trance. Realising that eating grapes was her easiest option she proceeded to devour all of them and then went for the carrots and apples. They were nice and juicy whereas the meat and the bread felt hard and difficult to break with her teeth.

Once she finished her meal, she shivered, realising she was still cold. The rider brought her a blanket and she thankfully wrapped it around her shoulders.

"May I ask where we are?" she asked, looking at her surroundings, once again, bewildered.

"We are sailing to the island. Your brother and the rest of the riders are here with their dragons" he replied.

Kayla nodded and wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, as another tremor shook her.

"What happened?" she asked, briefly closing her eyes.

The elf pressed his lips tightly together.

"A Shade attacked when you were unawares. You killed him with the help of your dragon but you summoned too much power to do so and it almost drained you. The only way of keeping you alive was to transfer some energy back and try to heal you. You have been unconscious for almost a month now" he replied and she shivered one more time.

There seemed to be an awkward silence between them after that and suddenly Kayla couldn't stand the feeling of being stuck inside these walls.

"Can I go outside?" she almost begged. The elf looked at her sternly.

"Do you feel you are strong enough?"

"Yes" she replied because until she tried she wouldn't know. It took longer than she had expected but in the end she managed to stand up. For a few moments she felt dizzy but then everything started settling in and she exhaled the breath she had been holding.

Her steps were slow and measured, the elf behind her, offering assistance and while it took her a long time, in the end she managed to get on the deck.

What she saw almost took her breath away. There were no lights around them and the dark, black ocean seemed to extend for miles. It was the middle of the night and Kayla could see clearly the sky above her and all the bright stars that shone. She didn't care to gaze at her surroundings, only looked up and walked quicker to the edge of the deck.

She heard a growling noise next to her and she turned around to see a black dragon, almost twice the size of a horse. Kayla stepped back and noticed that there were two elder dragons resting on the deck alongside another three younger ones, all sleeping. In the night she could see a figure flying up and it started descending slowly towards her.

The purple dragon landed next to her, its violet eyes fixed only on her and she let out a gasp, clutching the blankets closer around her. Last time she had gazed upon the creature it had only been a hatchling and now it was bigger than a horse. She swallowed and looked around her, realising that apart from the elf who was keeping watch - standing on top of the sails - no one else was around.

The dragon's eyes had not moved from her direction, a mixture of feelings emitting from it.

_Kayla._

She blinked hearing her name in her mind and quickly realised that it had come from the creature opposite her.

_I have been waiting a long time for you._

Kayla wasn't sure how to reply but the way in which the dragon spoke was majestic as if it was wise and old beyond its years.

_I should have not used magic so carelessly_, she replied.

The dragon seemed thoughtful.

_Yes, you shouldn't, but if you had not done so we would both be dead or worse_, it said and then paused. _Why do you hate me?_

She swallowed, taken aback from the creature's direct question, as curiosity emitted from it and something else.

What to say? There were so many reasons but maybe the most important one was the snowy landscape memory that started coming to the surface of her mind, which the purple dragon went to examine further…

_No!,_ she shouted, forcing Purple out of her mind and it hissed at her, perplexed, taking a few steps back.

Then, regretting her harsh tone she continued a bit more gently.

_I am sorry. I do not hate you. This was wrong but there are parts of my life that I cannot share with you. _

The dragon snapped its jaws closed.

_I understand. We shall keep our distance as we did before, _it said and went to fly in the night sky, its emotions closed from her.

As she watched its form disappear she clutched the blankets closer to her chest.

_I still do not know your gender_, she said.

The dragon seemed to mull over its answer.

_I am female, but as my rider you should have known this by now_, the she-dragon answered and Kayla felt her heart twist just a little.


	17. The Morning Star

**The Morning Star**

It soon became apparent that her sleeping pattern was distorted. Kayla slept during the day and woke for only a few hours at night. It hadn't been that long since she regained her consciousness - only two nights ago - but she had seen her brother only once and very briefly. She hadn't even woken up properly at the time he had visited but he had told her about Dras Leona, the amazing Dras Leona, and the two younger riders. She would have paid more attention, honestly, but she was too tired. The only thing she did notice was that her brother's appearance had changed slightly. Kayla couldn't put her finger on what it was yet. He seemed different, maybe more mature.

The next day she really did try getting out of bed during the day, but the action seemed to require too much energy. Instead she decided to wait until night and when darkness fell, it was indeed easier. Her movements were more steady and precise and everything was silent which she greatly enjoyed. She walked to her usual place on the deck and gazed at the vast dark ocean, which appeared to have no end.

Kayla took in a deep breath and the salty air tingled her nostrils. More than a month had passed since they left Alagaesia and she hadn't even been able to say goodbye. Not that it mattered much, though. She had exchanged her farewells with the only person she cared for.

Most dragons who were on deck, were sleeping, apart from her purple and the black dragon she had encountered the previous day. The black creature - the biggest of the four young dragons - started approaching her slowly, sniffing the air around her. Kayla felt her heart beat quicken and purple let out a warning growl.

_I can slice part of his wings' membranes_, purple suggested, speaking in her mind and glanced at her sharp, long, black talons appreciatively.

_He doesn't seem to have bad intentions_, Kayla replied studying the black creature intently.

_Maybe not. But you don't approach another dragon's rider without asking for permission first,_ the dragon continued and she appeared insulted.

Just then Kayla heard footsteps behind her and she turned around to see a young man approaching. The lightning was dim but she could tell that he was tall, slender and muscled like an elf. He had horns above his ears that protruded above the river of straight, long, black hair. She wasn't certain of the race to which he belonged.

He walked close to where she was and approached the black dragon. The man's hand extended slightly and then the two of them started circling each other, in a dance-like movement. Then all of a sudden the black dragon rolled in the air, the man managing to caress the dragon's belly and then the rider scratched the creature's ears and it looked pleased. The man smiled.

_What was that?_, Kayla asked Purple. Her dragon shrugged and walked closer to her, but not too close.

"I apologise if I, or my dragon startled you. However he did inform me that you were awake and since this is the time I always wake, I decided to meet the elusive forth rider" the man said, a strand of black hair falling in front of his eyes. "I am Laer and this is Onyx. You have a beautiful dragon. What is her name?" he asked.

Kayla shivered slightly and pressed the blankets she had on her shoulders, closer to her skin.

_You have seen them before, I take it?,_ she asked her dragon.

_Of course_, the creature snorted in her mind.

_What do you think of them?,_ Kayla asked and was surprised to find that she actually cared for the dragon's opinion. A month ago she would have laughed at this thought.

_They would be foolish to attack us,_ Purple said, murdering intent coursing through the bond and Kayla laughed, surprising both herself and the creatures around her. Laer and Onyx looked at her, perplexed. The movement made her lungs hurt slightly, but it had been so long since she had last laughed, that she couldn't help herself. After a few moments she stopped and straightened up, looking at her dragon again.

_I do not think they pose any danger either, but what I was asking was whether they are nice or trustworthy…_

_Better be careful than sorry. However, there is no harm in answering their questions and finding more about them._

Kayla nodded and went to reply, but just then, she realised something. She looked up at the purple dragon, suddenly feeling extremely guilty.

_You do not have a name._

The dragon gazed at her - an intent set of violet eyes - almost accusingly.

_No, I have not._

She let out a breath of air, almost in regret, and went to talk to Laer.

"It is nice to meet you, Laer, and your dragon, Onyx. I am Kayla but I am still searching for a suitable name for my dragon" she replied and the other rider nodded.

"Yes, finding a name for my dragon was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. It's not easy finding something that will describe both the personality and the image" he said and went to stand next to the deck, close to where she was. Kayla nodded, but what she didn't add was that she hadn't even tried finding one.

"You used an impressive amount of magic in the battle against the Shade" Laer commented and studied her carefully.

"It was irresponsible" Kayla replied and shivered, a tremor of cold passing through her body, remembering the lack of energy.

"But necessary. You would have died if you had not done so. Few riders have managed to stand against a Shade and live to tell the tale. True, he was a young Shade, inexperienced, but still a Shade"

She nodded and wondered if she was receiving her first compliment. Kayla knew well enough that what she had done was probably the most dangerous act a rider could do, so she had not anticipated to receive praise or approval.

"How long has it been since your dragon hatched for you? He seems quite big" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Laer smiled.

"My town was one of the first they brought the eggs to, around the start of the summer. Onyx should roughly be about two months old" Laer said and looked proudly at his dragon.

"Where is your town?" Kayla asked, interested, hoping to find some more information about Laer's parentage but he suddenly pressed his lips together, his dragon growling in hostility. He almost seemed surprised as if he had not expected to say what he said.

He shook his head, perplexed and then smiled.

"I would rather not talk about the past and concentrate on the present" he said.

Kayla didn't press any further and nodded. Instead she looked at the night sky, something she had always loved looking at. Then she turned her gaze to her purple dragon who took off and started flying close to the water's surface, looking for food underneath.

She caught two big fish in a matter of minutes, her jaws snapping together as she crushed bones and meat against her teeth. Satisfaction coursed through the bond and Kayla was just happy to share the experience.

It was actually surprisingly easy to lose herself into someone else's world and thoughts.

_You are a good huntress,_ she commented appreciatively.

The she-dragon snorted.

_If a dragon cannot catch its own food then it's no dragon at all. _

Kayla smiled and then sighed, thinking of potential names. Nothing seemed to suit the she-dragon though and she wasn't surprised. She watched carefully as the first rays of sun rose in the horizon and most of the stars disappeared, apart from one.

Laer noticed her looking at it.

"Aiedail" he said.

"The morning star" Kayla nodded.

"There were various legends amongst the races about it, but they now seem to have mingled into one story. Would you like to hear it?" Laer asked and she nodded. Her dragon was paying attention even though she was flying further away, with Onyx.

"Aiedail was a female elf, renowned for her hunting abilities amongst her race. She decided never to join with another male and instead live in the forest, amongst the trees and the animals. As she was hunting one day, she saw the Urgal God, Ahno the Trickster, and as is the nature of these things she fell deeply in love with him. But Ahno was neither moral nor good. He kept killing the animals she so dearly loved for no apparent reason. One day she was so angry that she set a pack of wolves against him. Ahno was so enraged after this, that he cursed her with unsatisfiable sexual desire. This led to her having many lovers from amongst the races. Ahno had been clever, if nothing else to place such a curse upon her. The man she cared for the most, however, was Orion. Orion was a human hunter who had accidentally seen her bathe naked in Leona Lake. It wasn't soon after that they became lovers and Aiedail did not need to turn to anyone else for her needs. However, Orion was a human and a mortal and the elf knew that he would soon die. She begged the gods to grunt him immortality and they agreed. Ahno had been with them when they were making their decision and he noticed a fault in her wish. Aiedail had forgotten to ask for eternal youth as well and so Orion became immortal indeed, but aged with each passing year until he was no more than an old, withered man with back pains and all the sorts of illnesses that come with old age. Orion pleaded to Aiedail to end his life, unable to keep on going. The arrow from her bow went straight through his heart and in the process Aiedail killed herself as well, possibly through magic. Realising the mistake they had made, the Gods decided instead to preserve the lovers' souls and make star consolations out of them. Orion's soul had been preserved quite well and the Gods made a big star consolation for him but Aiedail's soul was almost drained when they found her. Hence, why she has just one star for her, but it's a bright and important star. Aiedail hopes she will see Orion every dawn and she waits patiently. Sometimes her light fades but in the night they meet each other again and she sparks brightly. The star signals the start of a new day and gives hope to the most desperate of us" Laer ended and his voice shook slightly in the end. He quickly cleared it and smiled.

"Such a sad and beautiful story" Kayla commented, as she saw the morning start shining brighter in the sky. She couldn't exactly describe the feelings inside her chest. Some of them were happy but most were sad.

"Yes, it's my favourite story. My mother…" Laer begun but then stopped himself abruptly and appeared perplexed.

He looked at Kayla with big eyes and she was just about to ask him what he was about to say when her purple dragon spoke in their minds.

_How good a huntress was Aiedail_?, the dragon inquired, reaching both her's and Laer's mind and they looked up surprised, just as she landed on the ship's deck, pushing her silver wings against her sides.

Laer smiled.

"She was the best" he replied out loud and the she-dragon closed it eyes briefly and stood in front of the first rays of light from the sun and the star. There wasn't a single scale that didn't glow at that moment and everyone present stared at her.

_Repeat the name_, she said in Kayla's mind, in a very serious tone.

_Aiedail_, Kayla said, once, and made it sound as clear as possible through their mind connection.

The dragon's wings moved and glittered, the colour, a liquid silver – a great contrast to the dark purple and grey of her scales - and she rose into the sky flying towards the star.

Kayla smiled and Laer looked at her, smirking.

"Have you found a name for your dragon?" he asked and his black hair, moved to the right hand side.

"The morning star"

**Once again, review, follow/fav it will take less than a minute and it will keep me going :)! All comments are welcome, whether good or bad and you can always pm me if you have any other questions/comments. Currently working on the next chapter... Don't want to spoil anything but I will just say that the riders finally arrive on the island :P. **


	18. Landing on Dis Atilan

**Landing on Dis Atilan **

Tristan was becoming impatient. They had been on the ship for more than a month now and they had yet to reach the island. They had passed _some_ islands, true, but they had not stopped anywhere and they continued sailing in a southeast direction.

To fill their days the young riders would spar and fight, under the watchful eye of the Urgal rider who kept making comments about their stance, or the way they were holding their wooden sticks, or about the amount of strength they should be using.

Tristan could feel his body becoming stronger as each day passed. Looking back at his 'training' with Buster and Grion he realised that indeed it had just been play-fight.

Sometimes the elven rider would teach them words in the ancient language and ask them to try and use magic, but so far none had succeeded.

"Stenr reisa!" the elven rider said and the rock rose just a few centimetres above his open palm. "Repeat after me"

Tristan raised both eyebrows and looked at Laer, who appeared to be uninterested and Rikon, who was gazing at the rock intently and his cheeks had started turning red from the concentration.

"I think you actually have to say the words, Rikon. Otherwise you are only going to succeed in an early visit to your chamber pot" Tristan commented and the dwarf turned into an even deeper red. Tristan smiled brightly and the elven rider pressed his lips tightly.

"At least he is making an effort whereas you two are wasting my time" he said in a stern tone but his facial expression didn't change much.

"Fine, fine. Stenr reisa!" Tristan shouted but the rock in his palm, didn't move, not even an inch. He sighed, exasperated and Vertigo narrowed his eyes.

_Maybe I could try giving you some of my magic as a start to trigger yours…,_ he started but Tristan shook his head.

_Nope. As a dragon rider I need to do this all by myself._

_Stubborn. It shall take forever and I am getting bored of watching you, petty little humans, looking at a rock all day. _

Tristan raised an eyebrow.

_Go play with your friends or whatever it is you do up there_, he said and shook his head, smiling.

_We are looking around for potential danger so we can save your skins if the need arises. A simple thank you would suffice_, the dragon replied and send a mixture of feelings through the bond which appeared to be of hurt.

Tristan tsked.

_You are getting quite good at this 'fake feeling' thing._

The dragon let out a throaty noise that very much resembled a laugh, his emotions, now amused and happy.

_Thank you. I have been training… Oh! It looks like the short one managed to get it_!, Vertigo said and Tristan turned around to see Rikon, with his open palm and the rock above it, slightly trembling.

"Steady, now, steady…" the elf said but as soon as he did, the rock fell on the ground with a loud thump.

Sweat was dripping from the dwarf's forehead.

"I did it, I did it!" he shouted, excited and went to grab the rock and try again.

"I feel like we are being left behind" Tristan said in Laer's ear and nudged him on the shoulder. The rider smiled and then started repeating the words as well but not much seemed to be happening to him either. That day Tristan tried again and again but nothing worked and in the end he slumped against the wooden deck, exhausted.

The sun was beginning to set and just then, his sister came up. She had a blanket around her shoulders, holding it tightly in her hands and shivering every once in a while.

He smiled brightly at her and went to hug her. Kayla tried to raise her hands up but he ignored it and he just closed her in a tight embrace.

"I am so glad you are better!" he told her because this was the second time he had seen her since she had woken up. Most of her time she spent in her cabin, sleeping.

"Tristan. Air" Kayla whispered and Tristan let her go, smiling widely, but as he did so he realised that the bones on her back were more profound.

_Is she eating enough?,_ he wondered.

_Should I catch some sharks for her? I am still working on my skills but I can tell you for sure than I can catch at least one!, _Vertigo said proudly.

Tristan shook his head just as he heard a noise from behind him and turned to see Rikon hiding beneath a blanket, struggling to do something.

"Nagz reisa! Nagz reisa!" he kept repeating. Blanket, rise.

"I feel like I should go and help him but at the same time it's so much more entertaining just watching him" Tristan said, chuckling. Kayla smiled as well but Stoic, who was watching from the deck above them, was shaking his head every so often, disapprovingly.

In the end Rikon gave up and went to stand next to them, holding the blanket, his cheeks, a bright red colour.

Laer smiled and took the blanket from him.

"I think maybe we should concentrate on the rock for now and see where that takes us?" he offered, politely.

"Aye but I am done for tonight. You can do whatever you want" the dwarf sighed, exasperated and slumped on the wooden deck.

"Since no one is using the blanket, can I have it?" Kayla asked, shivering and Laer went to put it around her shoulders. Tristan watched this exchange, closely, realising that his sister and the other rider had met before.

"Cold, are you? Tristan asked both curious and concerned.

Kayla nodded, shaking slightly once more.

"I take it you don't want to experiment with magic then?" he asked her and at his question she looked horrified and quickly shook her head.

Tristan nodded and then heard his stomach growling.

"Food?" he asked and all the young riders nodded. The older riders were on the higher deck of the ship, talking amongst themselves. He brought the food out, and most of it was jam, bread, cheese, dried cuts of meats, fruit and nuts. Tristan put the giant platter in the middle and the riders sat down, cross-legged just as their dragons descended from the air with their food, which included mostly fish.

Kayla staggered back from all four of them, startled, as some of the fish landed close to her. Tristan, Rikon and Laer laughed. This had been their daily routine while on the ship, so he hadn't realised that it might look a bit weird to his sister.

"Don't worry. They stick to their food, we stick to ours" he said happily and went to grab bread and cheese.

Tristan hadn't even finished his first slice of bread before the dragons had devoured their fish. Each one of the dragons was eating according to its size, and at the moment all of them were bigger than horses which meant plenty of fish. He wondered how long it would take until he would be able to ride Vertigo.

His grey-blue dragon - at the moment - was playing with Aiedail's purple tail, excited, jumping from side to side. The purple dragon shot him a look of annoyance and let out a warning growl.

"Am. Aiedail kindly asks if you can tell Vertigo to stop playing with her tail" Kayla said and bit her lip unsure. Tristan raised his eyebrows.

"Why doesn't she ask him, herself?" he asked and played with an apple in his hands. Rikon was still eating, paying little attention to their exchange while Laer was looking at the sea.

"I think she already did" his sister continued and looked on the wooden ground. She obviously wasn't happy delivering Aideail's messages and she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Your dragon appears to be very short-tempered and…" Tristan was saying just as Laer yelled loudly.

"There, do you see?" he shouted and all four of them rushed to the edge of the ship to look at where the young rider was pointing at.

_I don't see anything_, Vertigo said, squinting his eyes. Tristan did the same but he only saw dark, blue sea.

_I think the tall one is imagining things._

Tristan almost agreed but then he noticed the white of some waves in the distance and as he looked more closely, there was a sort of mist enveloping a specific area.

_Waves means land._

_But where?_

"Gath un reisa du rakr!" the elven rider bellowed and the mist started dispersing and rising high. Unite and raise the mist.

Rikon let out a whistle of appreciation, Laer's eyes were wide with astonishment and Kayla's mouth had formed an O.

Tristan swallowed, once, and took in what lay in front of him.

There was a giant island, the size of which he could not exactly discern. It was long and thin on the edges while a lot wider in the middle. As he looked more closely, he saw a volcano rising high in its centre. On the end of one slope was a very fertile land, filled with green, tall trees, rivers and lakes whereas on the other side the land had a more rocky appearance. Even though the sun was low in the horizon Tristan could see that there were plenty of beaches around the island.

The island had the perfect form to host all races indeed, but one thought kept repeating in his mind.

_Who on earth would think of putting the dragon rider training base near a volcano?_

Vertigo let out a throaty laugh.

_I better hope it's dormant. Dragons fair well near volcanos, but even __**we,**__ won't be able to survive if it awakens. Oh! Speak of the devil! _

His blue-grey dragon looked at the distance, where Tristan could only see a small spot. He squinted his eyes and then he saw the spot growing bigger and bigger and he was able to discern giant sapphire wings flapping up and down.

"Saphira!" Rikon bellowed, his eyes growing large and he almost jumped from excitement. Indeed, the dragon Saphira was approaching them and Tristan couldn't help but gasp at her size and beauty. She was enormous and stunning.

On her back rode no one else but Eragon himself, with his brown hair blowing in the wind. The giant sapphire dragon let out a loud roar and dragons rose from every corner of the island with their riders, joining Eragon in his flight.

There were quite a lot of dragons, with different colours and sizes and all together they formed a striking rainbow as they flew towards them.

"Mighty seven riders…" Kayla whispered and looked up at the sky along with everyone else. She held the blanket closer to her shoulders.

"Actually, to be precise, there are more than twenty but…" Tristan was saying but then from behind him the four riders that had brought them to the island jumped on their dragons and flew to the skies where the rest of the group was.

Their ship was quite a long way from the shore and they weren't going very fast. It would take ages until they reached land.

_Is this a challenge_?, Tristan asked both himself and his dragon.

His dragon let out another throaty laugh.

_I believe it is…_

_I wish I could ride you. That would make things easier._

His dragon eyes sparked just at that moment and he looked at Aiedail, who was gazing at her talons admiringly.

_She is right._

_What did she say?,_ Tristan asked but his dragon winked and flew into the sky with Onyx, Fiord and Aiedail behind him.

Rikon pouted.

"I don't like being left behind…" he admitted but just then their dragons held on the front and back edges of the ship and started flapping their wings fast.

Wind blew against Tristan face and he saw the ship sliding through the water's surface, quick, like a knife slicing through butter. All four riders rushed to the front of the ship and looked above where the dragons were, below where foam rose and opposite them, where the island was. Just as the ship reached the shore - which to Tristan's surprise contained black sand - the dragons let go of the ship and landed gratefully.

Without further due Tristan was the first to jump from the ship and onto steady ground and Laer followed close behind, while Rikon and Kayla struggled a bit. In the end they all managed and they looked opposite them to where twenty and more dragons and dragon riders stood with stern expressions.

Eragon was in the middle and smiled just then, opening his arms widely just as his beautiful dragon Saphira let out another load roar.

"Atra esterní ono thelduin, Shur'tugalar" he said in the words of the ancient language. "Welcome young dragon riders, to Dis Atilan"

**Next chapter will be from Eragon's perspective. I will try to post it by tomorrow. And as CP would have said ...: Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!**


	19. Greetings, Shur'tugalar

**Greetings, Shur'tugalar**

_Stop it. You are making my scales tingle._

_Hmm?,_ Eragon inclined as Saphira batted her eyelids at him.

_You worry too much. This is not your first time…_

_Yes. But what do I say to them? This is not like the previous years…_

_No it is not,_ his dragon agreed but Eragon was lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

_Shades and shadow wyrms have appeared out of nowhere, people in Alagaesia mysteriously disappear, one egg was stolen and two were damaged beyond repair, dragon riders appear to be no match for this dark power and finally I might have cast a spell that makes all of you unworthy of being dragon riders. _

_I think you should start by welcoming them first_, his dragon suggested and Eragon shook his head and smiled politely.

He looked at the dragon riders behind him, all twenty six of them and their dragons. Eragon knew each one by name and origin. He knew their stories and their struggles, their dreams and hopes.

For the four new riders in front of him, he knew nothing. Saphira let out a loud roar and he opened his hands widely.

"Atra esterní ono thelduin, Shur'tugalar" he said in the words of the ancient language but realised that none of them would know what he had just said. He switched to the common tongue.

"Welcome, young dragon riders to Dis Atilan"

He then paused and took a few steps forward. The riders regarded him with excitement and respect apart from the human female who seemed cautious. He studied all four of them and the dragons carefully.

The purple dragon was sitting close to the human female but it was obvious they did not share the same closeness that was characteristic of a dragon and its rider.

_I think you should examine their minds_, Saphira advised.

_You are right. Both have very tall boundaries around them though and I don't want to break them without their approval first and especially not in front of everyone here_, Eragon said.

_Indeed… Just make sure you do it and do it soon because we have to get to the bottom of this. if a dragon egg hatched but the girl isn't the intended rider we have to take certain measures..._

_Agreed_, Eragon replied and went to examine the rest of the riders.

Next to the female rider, was a tall human boy, with dirty blond hair and a grey-blue dragon with silver wings which very much reminded him of Saphira when she had been young. The boy seemed excited but relaxed and he thought he saw himself in him. Maybe that's how he would have behaved at that age if a dragon had hatched for him and he didn't have to worry about the Ra'zac, Galbatorix, the Empire or the Urgals.

_But think of all the adventures we had!,_ Saphira said, lighting his mood and he smiled.

The dwarven boy seemed just that at the moment. A boy, with few patches of facial hair and a bright orange dragon. Last, was the tallest rider of the four, but Eragon could feel himself stalling so he decided to begin his speech.

"It is a great pleasure to see four riders this year. It is true that we expected more dragon riders by now but instead our numbers have been decreasing. It is an honour and a responsibility to be picked as a rider. There are dark times looming ahead and you have to be prepared for whatever may come. This island will become your new home, at least for the next few years and we hope that you think of us, as your new family but without forgetting your heritage. You are going to train to become the best that you can be. This is important if we want to succeed in the fight against the dangers that roam in Alagaesia and protect the people. I strongly suggest you take your studies seriously" Eragon said and briefly saw himself from Saphira's eyes.

_I look so responsible and mature. _

_You are responsible and mature_, his dragon replied. He shook his head and continued.

"No racism shall be tolerated. We are all equals here. Sparring, fighting and mind duels are allowed but only when they are part of your training and you are observed by a master or an elder rider "

Eragon quickly introduced the five masters of trainings and the six elder riders. The six elder riders had been riders no more than seven years so he always found it amusing that he called them this. Compared to everyone else, they were indeed elders and the best of the bunch but still it was peculiar to him considering that some were actually younger in years than some of the young riders. The five masters of training had been riders for more than fifteen years and were again the best he could have hoped for. They were good riders indeed but also skilled swordsmen and capable magicians often due to their heritage. Stoic was the son of Theon who was the head of the Kull territory in the East of the dessert and he had been trained from an early age to become the best. There was also Idel, who was an elf and very powerful and skilled with her magic.

_And yet, even the best of the best can so easily fall_…, Eragon thought remembering the recent events that had occurred, when he had sent some riders to follow the trail of a shadow wyrm.

He sighed turning his attention to his students, fifteen of them so far, nineteen including the new four.

"You will be taken to your race dorms later tonight. Housing this way allows for different race needs to be fulfilled. There are dragon spaces in each dorm as well as an individual structure just for dragons. You will report to the head of your race dorm every morning so that training can commence. You will have different lessons and timetables. Sometimes you will train with your dragons, sometimes not. Once a week there will be a meeting to discuss progress and the matters in Alagaesia to which you have to attend to. Of course you shall have hours for recreation and island exploration if you wish, but please stay near the periphery of the island for both our safety and yours. If you wish to return to Alagaesia you will have to speak to one of the elder riders for permission. Dis Atilan is quite far away …" he continued but Saphira interrupted him.

Eragon saw the perplexed expression of the four riders and smiled.

"You might be confused by the term Dis Atilan. It is the name of this island and in the ancient language it means island of the ocean. Brasungr is another name for it but as you already know names have power, so we prefer giving it an alternative one, in case one wants to use it for his own needs", he explained and then paused once again.

_Am I being too serious? _

_One can never be too serious. Especially when dealing with teenage riders and young dragons. You know how they can get. It's due to their excessive hormone production, I believe_, his giant, sapphire dragon said.

Eragon contained a chuckle and went to continue but then the dwarf boy raised his arm in the air and the elder rider nodded, giving him permission to speak.

"Can we see and talk to our family? We are quite far away from them…" he said and looked on the ground.

"Of course you can but that depends solely on you. As Idel will teach you, there are words you can say in the Ancient Language that will allow you to converse with your family and see them" Eragon said pointing at the female elven rider on his right. "It is up to you to make the spell work"

"You will be introduced to the rest of the riders, masters and elders in due time but for now I suggest that you head to your dorms with your dragons and rest. Tomorrow we can have a tour of the island. For now follow your dorm masters and settle in"

The four dorm masters, elf, human, dwarf and urgal, walked forward and Saphira blinked.

_There are two humans and one dwarf. I do not know to which race the last rider belongs to._

_I shall speak to him._

His gaze moved to the tallest rider, who had an elven built but broader shoulders and goat horns above his ears. His dragon was a massive creature, quite big even for his age and his colour was black apart from a few golden highlights here and there. The rider's expression was serious and comprised but Eragon felt there was something he was hiding and his alien appearance left much room for guesses. He nudged slightly the rider's consciousness and he wasn't surprised to find tall boundaries.

_Eka aí fricai un Shur'tugal. I am a rider and a friend.,_ he said in the young man's mind. He didn't try to disperse the boundaries but waited until the rider did so himself. Eragon wasn't sure if the other rider understood the ancient language but then he felt the boundaries lowering.

_It is an honour to speak with you, Shadeslayer_, the young rider said. Eragon nodded.

_This is a delicate matter but I would rather have your opinion before any decisions are made. Which dorm would you like to be placed in? _

The young rider seemed thoughtful.

_I was raised in a human community so I know their ways better._

_So it shall be then_, Eragon said and turned his attention to the remaining riders, retreating from Laer's – he now knew the name – mind.

"Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr. Un du evarínya ono varda. May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you!" he shouted loudly, smiled and jumped on Saphira. The elder riders and masters jumped on their dragons, following his lead. For a moment the riders said some words in the ancient language and momentarily sparks and fire illuminated the sky, turning night into day as he flew towards the base of the island. He could feel the gaze of the four new riders on his back and he let out a loud breath that only Saphira felt.

_Four more lives I am responsible for. If something goes awry it shall be on me._

**A/N: Happy September everyone! A month has passed since I started writing this fanfic and I have had more than 4000 views and more than 1000 visitors! Thanks to everyone for your reviews, interest and support :)! **


	20. A meeting of Old Friends

**A meeting of old friends.**

Eragon flew to the base of the island, where the central gathering building was. Saphira landed gratefully on the flat, green patch of land and the dragons behind, followed her example.

"Welcome back, riders" he said as soon as he had reached the structure with the open roof, which looked upon the skies and could host more than fifty dragons and riders.

"Aye, it feels good to be back" Melor said and scratched his beard, taking a sit near Eragon.

Eragon watched carefully as Ingrid placed the three dragon eggs gently in the vault, as if they were her babies. The Eldunari and the dragon eggs were safely kept in a crypt under the structure of the building, which was almost impossible to open from the outside unless you knew certain words in the ancient language and were found worthy enough to do so. Few riders had been able to open the chamber without Eragon's help.

He could feel Saphira's anger and distaste.

_When my talons catch the oathbreaker and egg killer I am going to shred him to pieces_, she promised in his mind and he couldn't agree more.

_It is a terrible thing, indeed, for young ones to pay the price of their elders' mistakes,_ the Eldunari, Umaroth, spoke.

At Umaroth's words, Eragon felt a feeling of dread settle over him. He wasn't sure if the words had been a simple statement or an accusation. He shook his head, perplexed, and resolved to think upon it later.

"Draumr kópa. Dream stare" he said and the water surface of the giant golden bowl - which stood in front of them and could easily fit three mature dragons - momentarily rippled and then five faces appeared, their backgrounds white.

"Any news?" the Urgal rider, Stoic, asked and his head extended forward to where the elven queen was.

Eragon tried not to directly look at her, but even then, her beauty took his breath away. Her green eyes shone as she shook her head with Firnen at her side.

"Nay. Four more elves are missing as well" she replied and the faces of all who were present looked stern. Stoic cursed and sat down on the ground, his hands in fists. Melor put a comforting hand on the rider's shoulder but he shook it off.

"Unfortunately I have no good news either. The exact number of the people missing is not known but reports keep coming" Nasuada said, the wrinkles on her forehead pronounced, as a few grey strands of hair fell in front of her eyes.

"The dwarves have started hiding under the earth once again but thankfully only two have been reported missing" Orik whispered.

"Same for Surda. Patrols of the lands have increased and Du Vrangr Gata has lent us some magicians" Orrin said and Eragon did not fail to notice how old and tired the human looked as well.

Finally, Eragon turned his gaze at the last face illuminated on the water's surface.

"What have you found my friend?" he asked and stared at the man with the dark brown hair and fair grey eyes. He was clean shaven but his lips were pressed into a thin line and Eragon noticed a faint cut at the side of his face.

"I have tried following their trail but I keep losing them. It seems as if they disperse into thin air only to reappear days later in a very different location" Murtagh said and pressed his hands over his chest, his expression stern. His dragon, Thorn watched the exchange carefully.

"We shall send other riders and you can meet them in Ilirea…"

"Eragon, I work alone and the people in Alagaesia do not trust me" Mustagh's answer was and his eyes glinted.

"Do not be a fool, red rider! You need our help as much as we needs yours! We need to find what is happening and get rid of the enemy, whoever that might be! Don't tell me that the death of the two eggs did not touch you even one bit!" Ingrid said and Eragon was surprised by her reaction. He had not known how deeply their deaths had affected her.

The riders were silent for a moment and Murtagh pressed his lips.

"I shall help the riders but I would prefer not stopping in the cities. Nasuada can tell you, better than I, how much people despise me" he said and his voice sounded hoarse and bitter for a second.

The elven rider, who sat next to Ingrid, Findet, rose from his sit.

"As dragon riders we have a duty towards the people of Alagaesia and we cannot abandon them in a time of need. Whatever your relationship with them, they shall not attack you while you are with us and if they do, then they will be punished" he said and sat down.

Nasuada's eyebrows were pulled together, her expression serious, but she kept her lips firmly shut.

"It is settled then. Findet, Ingrid and Melor you shall fly back to Alagaesia as soon as you are fully rested to work with Murtagh. Stoic as a master of strength, you are needed here, to train the young riders"

Stoic shot Eragon a look of annoyance but said nothing.

_He is angry to be kept here and not allowed to go search for Jijah, in Alagaesia._

_If you let him go, he will almost certainly do something foolish_, Saphira said and Eragon agreed. He broke the spell that allowed him to communicate with the leaders of the races and ended the meeting.

He flew back to his chambers and Saphira settled next to him, her eyelids closing, but she was still alert.

Eragon sighed and took the goblet of water that was on the table.

"Draumr kópa" he said, feeling the flow of energy as the water settled into the face of Murtagh.

The man looked up to him, annoyed.

"What?" he asked.

Eragon smiled. He trusted every one of the riders in Dis Atilan unconditionally and cared for them much, but as their leader there was none he could call his friend. Murtaugh was both his friend and his brother.

"It is going to be easier if you have them with you…" he replied.

"So you say. But they will only slow me down and ask me stupid questions"

"You might be surprised. How is Nasuada?" Eragon inclined, changing the subject. Murtagh shot him an irritated and pained look.

"How do you think? It's been more than a year since I have seen her in person and every time we meet, we do so in secret. Spies are everywhere and the Varden leaders only need the slightest pretext to throw her from the throne" he said in disgust and paced up and down.

"I wish I could do something to help her and relieve the burdens from her shoulders. I did not expect the Varden leaders to be so aggressive towards both her and you" Eragon said and Murtaugh rose his eyebrow at that.

"Are you really that surprised? And there is something you can do. You have the power, Eragon, use it already"

"Power comes at great costs, as you know. Besides I cannot leave Dis Atilan and abandon the students"

"This is bullshit, Eragon. Just because a prophecy said you will never set foot on Alagaesia again does not mean you can't. You, alone, control your fate and no one else"

"It is not that simple, you know. I have responsibilities here, I am currently working on extending the maps we have - the water and the land appear to have no end – and it's been so long since I last fought properly…"

"You are simply too afraid to set foot on Alagaesia because you will never be able to return to Dis Atilan again, am I right?" Murtagh inclined and Eragon stopped, his eyebrows pulled together. "How does Arya fare these days, Eragon?"

Eragon pressed his lips together and heard Saphira's voice.

_He might have a point._

He swallowed and shook his head.

"As I thought" Murtagh said and nodded. Then he smiled, humourlessly. "It appears none of us have much luck in love, then. Maybe it's a family curse?"

"Roran is doing well with Katrina. Their daughter has grown and training to become a magician. They usually escort the eggs in every Brasungr Festival. If it is a curse, then it began with our mother" Eragon said and smiled as well, a sad smile. Murtagh's face darkened and he rubbed his hand against Thorn's sharp scales.

They both let out deep, struggled breaths and held each other gazes for a moment longer until Murtagh looked away.

"Atra du evarínya ono varda, older, brother-vodhr. May the stars watch over you, elder, honoured, brother" Eragon said as he broke the spell.

"Atra esterní ono thelduin, brother, Eragon Shur'tugal. May good fortune rule over you, brother, Eragon, Dragon Rider" Murtagh managed to reply and his image was lost as the water settled back to its original form.

Eragon swallowed staring at the water's surface and his palm tingled. Saphira snorted.

_Just do it already! Otherwise I shall never be able to sleep with your excited, worried thoughts in my head_, she said and he smiled at her, as she blinked her giant sapphire eyes.

"Draumr kópa" he said and the water withered and changed to host the image of a young, beautiful woman with a river of straight black hair and sparkling green eyes. For a moment she appeared perplexed, her eyebrows pulled together and then she turned around to look at him. He smiled.

"My spell weavers are beginning to ask questions. They are worried that if you are breaking through their defences then another will soon find a way" she said.

"You have not told them about a certain spell I take it?" he asked her and she momentarily appeared insulted.

"This is something you have entrusted me with and I would never share it unless I had your approval first" she replied and Eragon sighed.

She did not smile and her expression did not change much. He had spent so much time with her and yet she always seemed distant and it was hard to understand her feelings and moods.

"Arya…" he said, a single word in his mouth and he watched, praying for a change. Her eyes grew big for just a second and her expression seemed to soften.

It had been so long since he had last seen her. He wished he could jump into the water and reach her side, touch her fair skin…

Eragon shook his head, remembering the harsh words they had exchanged last time they had met in person.

_Her harsh words...,_ Saphira corrected.

It had been mid-autumn and Arya had visited him in Dis Atilan. As the elven Queen, her duties did not leave her with much time for travel. He remembered how solemn and irritated she looked and the memory came back to him.

"_So many things to do, so little time. I always knew this role would be tough but I had never appreciated exactly how tough…"_

"_It's been ten years already since the beginning of Brasung festival and only a handful of eggs have hatched. More riders would help solve the issues the elves and the humans are facing. Nasuada has already informed me of various attacks from Galbatorix's generals and there seem to be people who keep opposing her. Orik and Orrin are helping her but since Orrin wasn't too happy with the decision made for her to become queen, I do not know were his loyalties lie… Dragon riders and dragons would help hunt these enemies down, built new buildings, make the lands flourish…" Eragon was saying but both he and Arya knew he was stalling._

_Eragon let out an exasperated breath while Arya held his gaze intently._

"_I have spoken to Umaroth about it and he agrees. Saphira, the Eldunari and I will bless the eggs again but we shall do it differently in order for them to hatch quicker"_

_Arya's eyes grew large and her stance turned into one of caution._

"_Do not do it, Eragon! You do not know what powers you will disturb!" she shouted at him._

"_The eggs have been in a dormant state for centuries now. I do not know for how much longer they will be able to stay like this…"_

"_No" the elven Queen said and her expression was serious. Eragon looked at her, surprised. "You ask of my answer. I shall give it to you. No"_

Another ten years had passed since then, more than twenty eggs had hatched and he and Arya had exchanged the occasional words but not much else.

The elven Queen looked at him again, her face now unreadable.

"It is late, Shadeslayer. Is there something you wish to talk about?" she asked him, while Firnen on her side seemed irritated and he walked away from the scrying water.

Eragon felt a lump forming in his throat and he shook his head.

"Atra du evarínya ono varda, Arya, Svit-kona" he simply said and broke the spell before he got a reply. May the stars watch over you, Arya, wise-woman.

He slumped on the marble ground and for the first time in years he felt the need to cry.

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	21. Lesson 1: Endurance

**Lesson 1: Endurance**

"Wow, just wow" Tristan bellowed as they walked on a stone path which led to the top of the mountain. He was trying hard to contain himself and not start jumping up and down like a child, thinking of the dragons flying above him and the adventures which would soon come.

Vertigo, who was flying above him, chuckled in his mind.

_Too much sugar?,_ he offered and Tristan rose an eyebrow at that and smiled to himself. The rest of the riders in front and behind him did not seem perplexed by the sudden changes in his expression or mood. They were all dragon riders. They all had silent conversations with their dragons.

In front of him walked the head of the human race dorm, a woman who went by the name of Gwen. She was shorter than him, maybe by a head and she had a thin, muscled body. A river of dark brown curls reached her waist and touched her olive skin. He could not place her exact age but she looked to be no older than twenty years. Tristan often found himself staring at her figure as she climbed easily on the rocks that were next to the path. He had to keep clearing his throat and try hard not to blush because Vertigo was making teasing comments about his reaction to her. Close to Gwen, a human male rider, Gas, was climbing the rocks as well and looked to be in his thirties. Kayla was walking behind Tristan and Laer was at the end.

The dwarves, urgals and elves were walking ahead of them and Rikon kept stealing glances behind him. He hadn't been particularly happy to be put in a different dorm from his new friends in the beginning, but now he had started talking to some other dwarves and appeared to be more relaxed.

His sister suddenly shivered and almost missed a step but before he could turn and help her, Laer had already put a restraining hand behind her. He quickly removed it once Kayla was steady again and she shook her head.

"I am okay. Just tired" she said and swallowed. From above them, Tristan could see Aiedail flying lower, her gaze locked on the girl.

"I am glad you and Aiedail are getting along better" Tristan commented and smiled to her, just as he took another step upwards and she held tightly on a rock.

Kayla pressed her lips and nodded.

"Yes… We have an understanding" she replied looking up.

Finally, after what left like at least an hour of climbing and then going downhill they reached their destination, which was a green valley located in the centre of the island and surrounded by hills.

There were a few tall oak trees around and a river that flowed freely from the top of the snowy mountains, ending in a small lake. He could see the four buildings made to house the different races and each was placed in an environment which most resembled the one that the creatures had been brought up in.

At the end of one of the hills there were caves made for the dwarves and then a bit further down a building for the Urgals. The building for the human race stood close to the lake and was constructed in the elvish style but with slight influences from human, urgal and dwarven architecture. Surprisingly, most structures were made out of stone, not wood – even though they did have some wooden elements - and Tristan wondered why, since wood was easier to manipulate with magic than stone.

_Wooden buildings would fare very poorly around creatures such as us. We do have razor-sharp claws and breathe fire after all. It would end badly for the wooden structures,_ Vertigo said, answering his question and appreciatively looking at his claws.

The only exception to this rule appeared to be the elven dorm which was inside the forest, higher up the hill, and was the only one made out of wood or rather the tree itself. It had individual taller structures at its back – as did all the dorm buildings - which were made exclusively out of stone and meant to house dragons.

In the centre of the valley, at the base of the dragon rider training centre, more stone buildings stood, all tall and grand. Stone paths connected the dorms to one another as well as to the base itself.

Gwen, their dorm master, followed one of these stone paths, reaching the human dorm and then walked inside. The riders followed her closely behind. It became apparent that the right part of the building housed the female riders and the left the males. As Tristan and Laer went to examine the building's interior they realised that their dragons had already settled inside the stone structures at the back and waited for them patiently.

_Mmm… Very comfortable. And pillows!,_ Vertigo bellowed in his mind, looking appreciatively around him. Tristan smiled as well and saw that the inside had quite a lot of intricate wooden designs used for decoration, compared to the outside.

The riders' rooms were located on the first and second floor. The former floor also had a big room packed with food supplies and there were baths and something that very much reminded Tristan of steam rooms, though he wasn't sure, as he had never seen one.

Laer and Tristan quickly decided on their rooms and then followed the older human rider, Gas, as he showed them the facilities.

"…and don't forget to wash and shave every morning" he ended, pointing at the wash basins.

As soon as the older rider left heading to his space, Tristan walked to his room. There was a giant double bed in the middle and across him there was a large window which overlooked the place where Vertigo had curled up. Without further due he jumped on the bed and wasn't surprised to find that the mattress and pillows were extremely soft.

"It's…" he started and then he felt his dragon nudge his consciousness.

_Amazing?,_ Vertigo added and opened one big black eye. Tristan smiled.

_Yes… Amazing_, he thought and felt his eyelids closing.

…

They woke up early the next morning. Kayla was used to sleeping during the day and being awake at night so she wasn't too bothered about it compared to her brother.

"But the sun hasn't even risen yet! Why are we up so early?" Tristan complained, rubbing his eyes while trying to follow them close behind.

"Trust me, you want the sun to be down for what we are about to do" Gwen said and Tristan looked at her quizzically.

Kayla wasn't sure what their first lesson would be exactly. She only knew that for today they would train separately from their dragons and she was glad for that.

She was following the human dorm leader as she took them higher on the mountain following the same path they had taken the previous day. They passed the forest and at the end of it they met the six young elven riders.

Out of the six of them, one elf stood out. He was tall, lean and agile, a characteristic of his elvish heritage and he had straight brown hair which reached his chin. His hair elegantly fell in front of his face but stopped just above his almost cat-like eyes. Kayla took in a breath of air just as Gwen, their dorm master, greeted him and the others.

The rest of the elves didn't look as enthralling. There were two twin girls with straight black hair that fell on their shoulders, two male elves, one with very short blond hair and the other with long, almost white hair and finally a woman which looked old for an elf and had pale blond hair as well.

Continuing their path upwards they passed the mountain caves, where they met up with the dwarves and then the urgals.

Once all the young riders had joined the group, Gwen took a left upwards turn and headed towards the volcano. Kayla wasn't surprised to see the elves and the urgals ahead of her - appearing not to struggle at all when walking upwards - and then the humans and the dwarves. She was the last one of the group and she could hear the conversations between her brother and the riders.

"Do you think they are going to throw us inside the volcano and ask us to fly or something?" Tristan asked Rikon.

The young dwarf shook his head, looked at the dark sky and swore under his breath.

"Barzul. It's too early for training and I better hope they don't do that, otherwise I will burn my beard" he said and stroked his facial hair.

Kayla smiled and Tristan rose an eyebrow at that.

"No offence but you don't have any facial hair yet. Which is a good thing considering we all have to be clean shaven" he said and smiled.

"You do, but dwarves can have beards if they so wish" Rikon said and smiled widely. Tristan was just about to reply to that but then Gwen raised her hand in the air and pointed next to the volcano crater.

Kayla looked to where the rider was pointing at and she could almost make out the outline of an Urgal. He walked quickly to where they were and pressed his arms over his chest. It was no one else than Stoic, who looked deadly serious and terrifying.

"We shall start easy today since none of you have done much - if any - training. Today we will run" the Kull said and flexed his muscles.

Tristan raised both his eyebrows.

"That's it? Running? No sword fighting, flying, magic or mind duels?" he silently asked Rikon, who appeared perplexed as well.

Kayla was just as confused as the two riders about their training and since she had not regained her strength fully she wasn't sure for how long she would be able to run for. She shivered unexpectedly and wished she had worn something warmer than the pair of leather pants and shirt she had found in her room's closet.

"You will go wherever I go. Whoever is left behind will have to complete the distance they didn't do today in the days to come. I suggest you don't fall behind" he warned and just like that he started running towards the volcano crater on the rocky path.

Kayla watched as the elves easily fell in step with him, the Urgals and older dwarves and humans following closely behind.

Tristan, Rikon and Laer started running as well.

Kayla took in a deep breath of air and gently pressed her right foot on the ground, then her left and then she went quicker trying to catch up with everyone else in front of her. She could feel her chest rising up and down, struggling to get enough air. Her muscles protested slightly and she still felt weak but she kept on going regardless.

The sun had started rising but the air still felt cold against her skin and every time she breathed, it felt as if a thousand ice needles were piercing her lungs. She shivered and almost lost her footing as they were descending towards a green, wet valley. Angrily, she shook her head and continued, following the people in front of her.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed but she could feel the sun on her skin, warming her up, but to an almost excruciating level. Kayla understood what the human dorm leader had been talking about when she had said that it would be better if the sun was down.

On a normal day the pace would have been easy to follow but they had been already running for a long time and her body was exhausted. She stumbled and this time she did fall on the ground, scratching her knees on a rock and she saw blood falling on the wet patch of earth.

She winced in pain, just as Tristan, Laer and Rikon paused and went to help her up. They all looked weary, with red cheeks, sweaty brows and trying to catch their breaths.

"You okay?" Tristan asked her, concern evident in his tone, as he put a hand behind her back and helped her up.

"Nobody stop! Otherwise whatever distance you haven't done today you will do tomorrow!" Stoic warned in a loud, almost mad voice.

Kayla pressed her lips together, feeling anger pumping inside her body. Somewhere, she could feel Aiedail's consciousness, but the dragons were too far away to be able to speak to their riders, so she could only sense feelings and see some images from her. Worry and annoyance emitted from the purple dragon.

"You! The four of you! Why have you stopped?" the Kull demanded, approaching them, his horns looking gigantic as the sun fell on them. The rest of the riders paused and watched the scene cautiously.

"My sister is a bit tired, she is still recovering" Tristan explained in a rather serious, protective manner and stood in front of her. Rikon and Laer stood a bit further away and Laer had his eyes closed as if concentrating really hard on something.

"We all have the same capabilities. Now, stop wasting my time and follow me!" Stoic continued and Kayla could feel resentment rising in her chest and a pressing need to scratch his yellow eyes out of their sockets.

"This is unfair! Urgals and elves are better suited to run – everybody knows this - and this is just our first day here!" Tristan bellowed as the Kull came closer to him, his shadow falling on all four of them, his gaze terrifying.

"We are all dragon riders here, boy! You think this is unfair? Life in unfair! Now keep up with the running! You need to teach your body to endure but it won't do so if your mind is stopping it. Your mind can endure anything and so can your body. This is your strength. Whatever happens you must keep on going! Do you understand?" he shouted angrily and Tristan pressed his lips together and nodded.

"If you want to stop, tell me and I will stop with you" he whispered in her ear but Kayla shook her head.

"No, I will run" she replied and she pressed her limbs to do so, even though they protested greatly and every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire. The only redeeming quality was that they were going down so it was easier on her lungs but not on her knees, which struggled to keep her upright.

More time passed and Kayla could now feel the sun's rays directly above her. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep on going. Her mouth felt dry and her tongue was like sandpaper. Sweat was covering every inch of her body.

Suddenly her limps felt weak and wobbly, like jelly and she fell on the ground, her eyes closing.

Kayla must have fainted because when she opened her eyes again Tristan and Laer were standing above her.

She saw Stoic's tall figure approaching and the rest of the riders moved to the side but they all had concerned expressions on their face. They looked to be in no better shape than the younger riders, with their cheeks red and puffy, sweat flowing freely on their skins.

"If you can't even run this long how will you be able to fight your enemies? How will you be able to save the ones you love? You won't. Think you will be in a much better state after a fight than what you are now? You will be like this and worse! Now run!" he screamed at her but his breath came out in a struggle and he quickly wiped the sweat from his brows.

Kayla didn't even make a single move to run and just returned his furious gaze with her own icy one, feeling a tiny spot inside her mind slowly coming back to life.

"Stoic-elda I think we have all had enough running for today. Besides it is their first day here…" Gwen started but the Kull raised a hand in the air and took in a deep struggled breath.

"Our biggest strength is to endure. Our biggest weakness is to give up" he screamed at the top of his lungs and then paused to take another breath.

"Tomorrow you will run twice this distance. I suggest you come prepared" he said in a more even, silent tone and run at the edge of the hill they had been standing on. He jumped from it only to land seconds after on his gigantic dark brown dragon – a size close to Saphira's – who spread his wings and flew high.

**So yap this was a longer chapter than the previous one even though I tried to keep it to less than 3000 words. I am thinking of posting a new chapter every Sunday or Monday. Could you tell me in your review or pm if that's okay? Again, thanks for reading ****!**


	22. Have an open mind

**Have an open mind.**

"Stoic is extremely tense. I believe a few hours in the boiling lava would help relieve this tension" Tristan murmured but did so in an annoyed manner.

They were walking towards the base of the island, following the rest of the riders but they were doing so in a leisurely pace, still trying to catch their breaths after the long hours of running. The sun was slowly sinking towards the sea and the temperature was dropping, something Kayla was happy about. Probably the only thing she was happy about.

"I hate him" she whispered between clenched teeth as she was trying to think about something else other than pushing her thumbs up his eye sockets and not stopping until she reached the end of his skull.

"I cannot understand his behavior" Laer added, pressing his lips together but Kayla ignored his comment.

Her breathing was still uneven and she wasn't sure whether that was due to exercise or anger. She spotted a small rock on their way down and she looked at it, for only a second, before it started trembling. Kayla quickly looked away, hoping no one had noticed, and took in a breath of air, trying to calm herself. The momentary flow of energy in her mind stopped but she quickly sensed a consciousness pressing down on her own.

_Kayla… Be careful…,_ Aiedail cautioned and Kayla annoyed, put her boundaries higher up so that the dragon wouldn't read what she was thinking about. The fact that she could hear her dragon's words meant that the dragons had finished their training as well and were approaching the island.

_Although I don't disagree with Stoic-elda's training methods – all you, young riders, at the moment are close to useless - I think he could have been less harsh with you, considering everything that has happened,_ Aiedail said and Kayla breathed.

_Why were you looking into my mind? I thought we had established some boundaries!,_ she shouted annoyed.

_You are my rider. I have a right to know what is happening so that if the need arises I can come help you_, the dragon said troubled.

_You were too far away to offer any substantial help. If someone attacked us I would have probably died. Or better yet, Stoic would have died. That would actually be kind of nice_, she said smiling and suddenly felt the flow of energy in her mind, return.

Alarmed, Kayla stopped and pressed her hands on her temples trying to calm herself and drown Aiedail's voice. This earned her the concerned glances of the riders ahead. Gwen and the handsome elven rider she had noticed before, walked quickly to her side.

"We shall inform Eragon-elda of what occurred today. It is known that you still harbour wounds from your battle against the Shade. Even we, as older riders and I, as elf, had trouble keeping up with Stoic-elda's training" he said pointing at Gwen next to him, who nodded. Kayla did not fail to notice that his eyes had a deep green colour like the forest leaves.

"No. That will not be necessary" she told them and shook her head.

Gwen's brows were pulled together and she spoke. "Are you sure? There is no harm in admitting what is already known. Adrian and I already agreed to speak to Eragon about it"

_Your ego wouldn't be able to take that though, would it_?, Aiedail said, almost ironically, and Kayla saw the dragons' figures approaching in the distance.

The riders looked up, forgetting for a moment their previous conversation and switching instead, to silent ones with their dragons and for that Kayla was glad.

Tristan's grey-blue dragon, Vertigo landed next to him and let out a satisfied roar when he saw his rider. Findet and Onyx had similar reactions when they saw Rikon and Laer and Kayla watched as each rider greeted their own dragon, pleased and amused expressions on their faces, as they shared their stories.

Aiedail flexed her silver wings and did not look at Kayla. Not that the girl expected her to. A few moments passed before the riders continued their way down the valley and with every step she took she tried to stay away from the bright spot in her mind and her dragon as much as possible.

…..

"Steak?" Tristan inclined and shook the food in front of Vertigo's nose as he jumped from one side to the other.

Riders and dragons had all gathered in the Grand Hall at the base of the island, where they were taking their supper. Eragon had given them a tour of the small city, Glieonard, as soon as they had arrived and had urged them to discover the rest of the island by themselves, another time.

The complexity of the hall as well as that of its surrounding buildings, took Tristan's breath away. There were many buildings in Glieonard and cobbled streets connected them to each other, which were wide enough for at least two dragons to walk abreast. Rooms and doorways in the buildings were also large enough to accommodate dragons of most any size. As a result the base of the dragon rider centre was dotted with buildings of such immense proportions that would make even the dwarves stand in awe. Gardens and fountains were also found throughout Glieonard and Tristan had noticed a few towers soaring high as well. Some riders' halls and holds were present and the young riders had been informed that as soon as they had completed their six years of training, they could relocate to the base of the island, as opposed to staying in their individual dorms, if they so wished. Their dorms weren't far away from Glieonard, maybe twenty minutes of walking at a leisurely pace and less than a few minutes on dragon-back. This was a good thing because the riders had been informed that they would visit the place often, since almost all celebrations, meetings and suppers occurred in the Grand Hall.

Eragon was now sat on a table, alongside the elder riders and masters of training, as well as some elves and dwarves, which Tristan had not noticed the previous day and did not bear the Gedwey Ignasia symbol on their palms. The younger riders were in another table with their dragons by their sides.

The elven dorm leader wrinkled his nose as Tristan took a big bite from the meat.

"What?" he inclined and the rider shook his head.

"Your human manners will change once you enter another living being's consciousness. It's easy for you to eat meat now, but when you experience how the animal feels, how it thinks, how it behaves, your perception will change" he said.

"Doubtful" Rikon replied next to him as he finished his second cut of meat. "Dwarves, humans and Urgals have been eating meat for millennia now. This shall not change"

Tristan nodded and examined what the riders around him were eating. Apart from him and Rikon everybody else seemed to prefer vegetables, grains and nuts and there was a vast array of those.

"Does Stoic eat meat?" he asked the elven rider, who went by the name of Adrian.

"Sometimes" Adrian replied. "But when there is so much else to choose from – all these fruit, nuts and grains you eat are grown on the island – why would you decide to end an animal's life?" he asked.

_Because I need to eat,_ was Vertigo's answer. _And meat is my source of energy._

_That is indeed the case for us but not for elves, humans, dwarves and urgals_, Adrian's dragon - a big, lean creature with a mahogany colour and hazel highlights – said in his deep, throaty voice but Tristan didn't particularly appreciate his and his rider's obnoxious way of talking.

"What about plants? Are they not considered living things?" Tristan replied, raising his eyebrows.

Adrian did the same.

"Plants are living things as well and very complex indeed. But you do not kill a plant, simply collect the fruit it freely gives you" he said and Rikon and Laer joined in the conversation.

Tristan was already getting bored of this talk, however, so he turned his attention elsewhere.

"Will you allow me to heal your wounds? I can lessen the tension on your limbs" Gwen offered to Kayla, who was sitting next to her. "Besides, my responsibility is taking care of the new human riders"

Tristan considered the possibility of injuring himself on purpose so that he could go to Gwen for healing.

_Low. Low, even for you_, Vertigo said in his mind and chuckled. He blushed and threw a fork at his dragon's direction which only bounced back from his armour-strong scales.

_Really?,_ the dragon asked and almost raised an eyebrow but Tristan stretched his limbs.

_It was worth a try,_ he said and smiled, content.

"You should…."

"Accept…"

"Her help"

Tristan heard the voices and looked at the twin elven girls who spoke to Kayla. They had fair skin and straight, black hair which reached their shoulders. Their eyes had the darkest colour Tristan had seen and when he tried looking directly into them he felt as if he was sinking into an abyss.

_They finish each other sentences_, Vertigo said.

_Not creepy at all_, Tristan added just as the two girls started laughing for no apparent reason. A dragon approached them and when it raised its head he almost let out a scream.

"Mighty seven riders!" he said and fell from his chair. Vertigo chuckled in his mind.

_Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that._

Tristan swallowed as he looked at the grey dragon, a colour similar to the mountain's rocks, with the two heads.

Kayla appeared surprised as well.

"I am Maya…"

"And I am May" the girls said but Tristan could not see any differences between them or between the two dragons' heads. They narrowed their eyes at him and he felt as if he was momentarily frozen into place. Then the girls chuckled and he was suddenly able to move again. He quickly looked away.

"Weird" Rikon whispered into his ear and Tristan nodded.

"Weird doesn't even begin to describe it" he replied just as the girls fed the dragon heads small meat pieces, which they had cut in a very precise shape.

Laer pulled the chair from the table and cleared his throat. Tristan looked up to him and smiled.

"Where are you going?" he asked curious but the other rider touched Onyx's nose gently and then turned his attention to him.

"I am heading back to our dorm. Training will start early tomorrow and I want to be fully rested…" he explained but Tristan rose an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked and shook his head. "I am sure the dorm leaders will tell us when we need to head back to our dorms…" he was saying but the other rider had already exited the building.

Tristan turned his attention back to Gwen. A dark brown curl fell in front of her face as she whispered some words to relax Kayla's muscles and pressed her hands on his sister's thighs.

_Your thighs must ache as well. Ask her to heal them for you_, Vertigo said and Tristan blushed once again. Nevertheless, he ignored the comment and his dragon went to play with Aiedail's tail. The she-dragon growled, once, warningly and Tristan chuckled as Vertigo walked back to him with his tail down like a scolded puppy.

Suddenly, a ringing noise echoed in the hall and all of their attentions shifted to Eragon, who was touching the edge of his fork on the crystal glass.

"I hope you enjoyed your first day of training today even though it must have been different from what you might have expected. What are the three rules to spotting downdrafts, young riders?" he asked and pointedly looked at the three of them, Tristan, Kayla and Rikon.

Tristan felt as if he was being examined, only he was not prepared. Even though Vertigo had been far away training with the rest of the dragons today - and thus he was not able to speak to him - he had still been able to see some images and sense some of his thoughts. He felt like he knew the answer to Eragon's question and he repeated it to him.

Eragon smiled and nodded.

"Indeed this is true. And which race can run the fastest and which the longest?" he asked looking at Onyx, Aiedail and Vertigo. The dragons appeared perplexed and Eragon shook his head.

"You share a connection with each other and you should make the most of it. Keep an open mind at all times and even when training separately, remember to communicate with each other" he advised.

At that Kayla crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can return to your dorms and rest well, because there is a long day ahead of you tomorrow, with more lessons and training" he said and the young riders started exiting the Grand Hall.

"But I shall need to speak to you, Kayla" he added. Tristan did not doubt that Eragon already knew what had occurred during their training today. He was not sure what to make of the legendary rider yet, but he seemed to be more calm and understanding than Stoic.

He heard Eragon saying to Kayla to meet him afterwards in the library. Tristan rubbed his hand against Vertigo's scales absentmindedly and looked at the dark sky as he followed Gas and Gwen back to the human dorm rooms.

Soon, Vertigo grew bored of walking and rose to the skies.

_I am looking forward to the time you will join me there_, the dragon said in his mind in a surprisingly warm tone.

_Me too._

**A/N: I have decided to post a new chapter every Sunday/Monday (I have the weekend which gives me plenty of time to write something :p) . **

**Next chapter will include Eragon's examination of Kayla's mind and we will find out what he actually did to the eggs and why he did what he did! **

**D********on't forget to leave reviews, they make my day and keep me writing :)!**


	23. Keep your friends close

**Keep your friends close…**

**A/N: Finally, I got my laptop back :D! And all the files are here :D! It was a battery problem in the end and thankfully I had insurance! As promised, here is the new chapter and I will post the new one on Sunday. Again, thanks for your supportive comments (even though I didn't reply to any of them) and your patience and enjoy the chapter :).**

"Stoic, you cannot treat them in this way. They are students" Eragon advised the master of strength and looked sternly at him. They were inside the library, which was located at the back of the Grand Hall and Eragon was sitting at his wooden desk.

"It is no different to the way I was raised" the Kull replied, his gaze stern.

"What is this about, really?", Eragon inclined and the rider pressed his lips together.

"Send me back to Alagaesia, Eragon"

"I cannot"

"You do not need me to train the students. Someone else can do my part"

"It is not about that", Eragon replied and the Urgal's eyes grew large.

"Do you think I will be unable to stand before the enemy?"

"This is a threat none of us have faced before but it is not about that either. I am afraid you might put your fellow riders at risk by doing something foolish in your attempt to find Jijah"

Stoic sat on the ground, cross-legged and at the mention of the name he put his head between his hands.

"She was – is - the one for me, Eragon. If something – someone – has taken her I owe it to her to find her. Would you not do the same, if you were in my position?" he asked and Eragon already knew the answer to that, remembering the dark dungeon the Shade had kept Arya in.

Jijah had been an Urgal dragon rider, one of the first to have an egg hatch for her. She and Stoic had grown close over the last few years. As soon as news had arrived of an impending danger in Alagaesia, however, she had been sent back together with another four riders. They had not returned.

_Should I let him go back to Alagaesia?,_ he asked Saphira who was resting outside, in a garden with fountains.

_More riders would possibly aid in identifying and crushing the threat but the same was said last time and the plan failed. Fewer riders might work better than more. _

_But now we have a better understanding of the threat._

_Do we, though? _

Eragon sighed deeply, mulling over his answer.

"I cannot keep you here if you do not wish to be here"

Stoic nodded.

"I shall depart with the rest of the riders then" he said and there was a note of determination in his voice.

"Be careful Stoic. The dangers that lurk out there… The Eldunari and I don't know what to make of them" Eragon said and the rider nodded. Stoic went to exit the room but Eragon held his hand up.

"You are the only one who has ventured into the human girl's mind, is that not true?" he asked, curious, and played with a feather which was at the top of the desk, close to a book he had been reading.

Stoic's brows pulled together.

"Her mind is most curious. I have not encountered anything like it before" he said and Eragon nodded. The other rider walked out of the room and closed the wooden door behind.

Eragon let out another breath and looked at the ceiling. From the window on his left, Saphira's eye poked through. There was a time when they had first arrived on the island that she could fit her whole head through the opening, but those times were long past.

Eragon examined the map he held in his hands. It was a map of Alagaesia and all the lands which extended beyond, which he had discovered in the last twenty years. Atop his desk a thick stack of books lay and he had read each and every one of them.

_And yet reading books does not solve the problems. You remind me of Jeod, nowadays_, Saphira said in his mind.

_I like to think of myself as a scholar as well_, he replied and thought of the time when he had fought against the Empire and the dark powers that ranged, defeating Galbatorix. He could no longer do that, but Murtagh was in Alagaesia in his place and had all the resources needed.

_Apart from one. The people will never fully trust him. Not like you,_ Saphira said, finishing his trail of thoughts. The rider nodded just as a knock echoed inside the library.

Eragon looked up and a head poked through the door. The girl was slender with long, blonde hair which fell in front of her face and half concealed her purple-blue eyes. She didn't appear scared, rather cautious and maybe a bit irritated.

"Welcome, young rider" Eragon said and smiled to her but she did not return his smile. She had her hands into fists.

"You will want to examine my mind, I take it" Kayla simply said and he was surprised by her insight.

"Indeed. The elder riders informed me of the circumstances during which Aiedail hatched. Is she here as well?" Eragon asked, even though he already knew the answer. He wanted to see the girl's stance on the matter.

Kayla nodded.

"She is outside but I would prefer if she wasn't too close while you examined my mind"

_Hmmm_, Saphira said in his mind and Eragon rose an eyebrow.

"And why would that be?"

"My thoughts are my own as are my memories and I try to keep them this way" she said and crossed her hands over her chest.

"The most basic lesson of being a Shur'tugal is to share everything with your partner. Would you cut of your right arm or would Aiedail fly with only one wing? Nay. Why would you ignore the bond that links you? This way you reject your greatest gift" he said but the girl remained solid on her decision.

He sighed.

"Will you at least allow me access to your mind, then?" Eragon inclined.

"To you, yes. To anyone else I would rather not" she replied and took a few steps forward to where he was. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Eragon gently touched his thumbs on her forehead and felt the tall boundaries in her mind dropping.

_Can you hear me?,_ he asked her.

_Yes,_ she replied.

_I shall now look at your memories. _

_Please be quick about it_, she replied in an almost stern tone and this time Eragon wasn't surprised.

He examined every memory he could find. Some rose on the surface easier than others. He saw her growing up, step by step and he felt the deep love she harboured for her only two family members. Eragon sensed her heartbreak at her father's death and when he went to dig further he felt her wince and he almost got thrown out of her mind, which was something he had not expected.

Only elder, trained elves and some dragon riders could match his skills in mind duelling and this girl had never even been trained. He took in a deep breath and proceeded once again reaching the point where the dragon had hatched for her and the way she had fought against the Shade.

Even though everything appeared normal there was something unique about the girl's mind that he had never encountered before. He was curious at her display of magic and went to further examine it but suddenly he felt something attacking him, like a dagger being inserted into his mind.

Saphira growled and quickly lent him her power to counteract the attack. It did little to help and suddenly Eragon was thrown back inside his own mind and the boundaries around the girl's mind seemed to be ten times higher than before.

He opened his eyes and saw her breathing heavily, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Please. Never again" she whispered and held her hand up in the air. Eragon felt drained and heard the purple dragon flapping her wings angrily outside of the library.

_What was that?,_ he asked Saphira who had her lips curled up at the corners, her face visible from the window. Her distaste for the girl was evident.

_I do not know but I do not trust her, Eragon. _

"I can't, I am sorry" Kayla said and closed her eyes. "It's too painful"

Eragon nodded and waited until five, ten or more minutes passed. As soon as he regained some of his strength he looked at the girl, who now had her eyes open.

_I still do not know if this occurred because of what we did to the eggs_, he said in his dragon's mind.

_I highly doubt it. This appears to be something else entirely. _

Eragon agreed but still he couldn't help himself and he asked the question which had been circling at the edges of his mind for weeks now.

"You did not want to become a dragon rider before. Have you, however, changed your mind?" he asked her.

Kayla met his eyes for only a brief second.

"No" she replied and he heard Aiedail's pained growl outside, as the dragon took off.

Eragon swallowed and clutched the object closest to him which was a chair.

_It is my fault, Saphira. _

_You do not know that!_

_And yet I do,_ he said and shook his head, the movement causing a sharp pain to run down his neck.

"There is no way to reverse this, then?" Kayla asked and Eragon shook his head.

"No precedent exists to draw upon for wisdom"

"Can I go back to my room? Training will start early tomorrow" she said but she was looking somewhere far away and he couldn't guess her thoughts.

"Yes, you may go" he said and he watched the girl turning the door handle and quickly walking away.

Saphira growled.

_There is a human saying, Eragon, which you know already. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. _

….

Eragon walked quickly to the Central Gathering Building, close to the Grand Hall, feeling his heart beat quicken inside his chest. Saphira followed closely behind. He saw the gigantic golden goblet with the water and then looked at the crypt which was located directly below.

He swallowed and said some words in the ancient language. Eragon felt the fleeting touch of many minds, who quickly examined his thoughts and then the water drained from an opening in the golden goblet only to reveal a hidden passage way and a set of stairs. Saphira was way too big nowadays to fit inside the opening, so he went down below, alone.

What he saw inside, reminded him very much of the Vault of Souls in Vroengard. Many alcoves dotted the walls and within each alcove rested a glittering orb. All had different sizes, like dragon eggs and they pulsed with a soft inner glow. On the tiers below he saw smooth and ovoid objects that appeared to be sculpted from stone of differing colours, the dragon eggs.

Out of all of the Eldunari the ones that spoke most often to him and to the other riders were Umaroth and Glaedr. The Eldunari were kept in the crypt most of the time and even though there was a rock above it, it was not big enough to stop them from extending their consciousness to the rest of the riders.

Sometimes they instructed the masters of training on whether they were doing something wrong or whether there was another spell they could use. Other times they remained silent and dormant, appearing not to be very interested in the events that occurred.

_You have come again, Shur'tugal_, Glaedr said, speaking in his mind. Eragon nodded and showed the Eldunari, his recent attempt in entering Kayla's mind.

The old dragon Valdr seemed stunned and then projected an image of another dragon, which Eragon had not seen before. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

Eragon had long concluded that Valdr must have been a wild dragon. When he had first arrived on Dis Atilan, he had considered sending the eggs that were not set to join the Riders on another island nearby as soon as they hatched, with Valdr as their leader and teacher. Indeed twenty wild dragon eggs had hatched since then and he had sent them to an island not far away from Dis Atilan, but Valdr had requested to be kept here. Instead, Eragon had sent ten Eldunari to join them that once belonged to wild dragons as Valdr had shown him. It was only fair to have the old wild dragons teach their ways to the new ones.

The existence of the island and of the wild dragons themselves, was only known by a few and Eragon wanted to keep it that way. It was better for the time being - until the wild dragons grew strong enough to defend themselves and also in order to avoid terrorizing the rest of the living creatures - to have them far away from Alagaesia. He visited the island with the wild dragons, Ramirblaka, often and he communicated with the wild dragons' Eldunari to make sure everything was safe.

Two hundred and forty-three eggs he had found in the Vault of Souls. Twenty six had been set to join with Riders and the rest were un-bonded and free to hatch when they so wished. And yet only twenty of them had done so and Eragon worried much, because he remembered Umaroth's warning.

_The eggs are bound with magic that slows their bodies, and they can remain as they are for years more, but it is not good for them to stay within their shells for too long. If they do, their minds can grow twisted and strange._

He had not known why the eggs weren't hatching. The conditions seemed ideal for them to do so and yet they remained dormant, something that made the Eldunari worry as well. It was Saphira who had first suggested this.

_You changed the blessing to include the Dwarves and the Urgals. Why not bless them again so that they can hatch quicker? Both the riders' eggs and the wild ones? I feel their consciousness at night and it troubles me. They cannot stay in their shells much longer without any consequences._

Glaedr and Umaroth has agreed saying that it was time for the eggs to hatch. Eragon knew he would need to bless the eggs in a way to allow them to hatch quicker. He had also decided to include some wild ones to the eggs that were set to join the riders.

In his latter decision, the Eldunari appeared to be conflicted. Valdr had been strongly opposed while Glaedr agreed but had warned Eragon that he did not know what the exact aftermath of this would be, considering the mother dragon had not freely given her egg to the riders.

Twenty six eggs had been set to join the riders and he had included another twenty four. Out of those fifty, thirty five eggs had hatched. Thirty five riders should have been present but five of them had gone missing under unknown circumstances during their travels in Alagaesia. At the moment twelve eggs set to join the riders stood in the crypt as well as some wild dragon eggs while the rest were in Ramirblaka.

_Was my decision wrong?,_ Eragon asked, his thoughts returning to the present situation.

Valdr showed Eragon another image of a giant dragon, while Glaedr and Umaroth seemed to be mulling over their answer.

_The purple dragon – Aiedail – was supposed to be one of the wild dragons,_ Glaedr simply said.

_But wild dragon eggs blessed again have hatched for other riders and we have not had a similar problem,_ Eragon insisted.

_No, we have not. Maybe you should consider the possibility that the dragon is not the problem, _Umaroth added.

_Then what is?_

At that, Umaroth and Glaedr did not reply, but Valdr showed Eragon another image of a dragon and then someone that very much resembled a sorcerer.

After a long time he exited the crypt, but was more bewildered than ever. In the early hours of the morning, during his elf sleep-like state, he saw a creature with black markings covering its arms and giant dragons which had the sizes of mountains hunting him down and demanding him to return the eggs.


	24. Leson 2: Agile Sparring

**Lesson 2: Agile Sparring.**

The next day Tristan did not need to be woken. He had already washed under the warm water in the baths and shaved to the best of his abilities. Now, he wore a clean white linen shirt and a pair of linen trousers as well, which he had picked from his closet and hoped would ease his running.

They followed the path they had taken the previous day, stopping once so often to pick the rest of the riders and reached the volcano crater where a rider awaited them, one he had seen only briefly.

He was human with dark brown skin and clean shaven head which glowed under the first rays of light from the sun. For a human, he was tall and very well built. Tristan was surprised to see that there wasn't a single hair on the rider's skin. Golden rings hung from his ears and one from his right eyebrow. As he saw them approaching the elder rider flexed his muscles and pressed his arms over his chest.

"Welcome, welcome, young riders. The ones who have been here before will know me as a master of sparring but since Master Stoic has been assigned different duties I volunteered to take his role. My name is Octavian but you shall refer to me as master or ebrithil as is the word in the ancient language. We shall repeat what you did yesterday with Stoic; run. This is done to train your muscles and increase your endurance as he might have explained but as there are other tasks to concentrate on, we shall not spend long running" he said and with that he set of ahead of them, his golden earrings making a ringing noise every time he landed on the ground.

Tristan followed behind and kept stealing glances at Rikon and Kayla who were at the back of the group. Surprisingly they were able to keep up and weren't going too slow.

As Octavian had promised, they did not run for long, maybe a couple of hours and as soon as the sun rose they stopped to catch their breath. They were in a valley now, near the forest and there were tall oak trees with long shadows that reached them and offered some protection from the day's heat.

Octavian took a sword out of its sheath, a beautifully decorated golden sword and faced them.

"Now. I don't know if any of you have done much training with swords but as Shur'tugalar it is necessary that you know how to wield one as well as a bow. With me you shall be taught both and you need to be patient and persistent. You will be put into groups of two to train" he said and carefully went around the group, arranging them into pairs. He put the older, more experienced riders together and did the same with the younger ones.

Tristan was placed with an Urgal rider, who was named Grohn and had been a dragon rider no more than a year. This was good news for him, meaning he stood a chance against the Urgal and he got given a wooden sword. It didn't take long for him to realise that he was nowhere near as good as he thought he was.

_Wait, you thought you were good?,_ Vertigo asked in his mind as Tristan saw an image of his dragon dropping from the clouds and then rising up again. At the moment Saphira was teaching them how to manoeuvre properly in order to avoid enemy attacks and which heights were ideal for flying.

_Concentrate on your flying for now, little reptile_, Tristan said, not unkindly. He felt his dragon letting out a puff of smoke and then Tristan returned his attention to his sparring.

The Urgal had a unique fighting style - different from the ones he had encountered before - and combined with his immense strength and height, Tristan's hopes of beating him crushed to dust. The only thing he could do was to try and go behind him, and catch him unawares. However, this soon failed so he tried to only defend himself. Often, Octavian would walk by his side and make comments about his stance, correcting the position he had placed his feet or adjusting his grip on the wooden stick.

Kayla had been placed with a dwarven female rider and her inexperience was evident. Octavian must have spent most of his time coaching just her, although he did comment on Laer's and Rikon's fighting styles as well.

When the riders took a break and had their lunch - which again included mostly fruit and vegetables - Tristan had time to study the elves. There was no doubt that they were well suited for sparring and they must have had training from a young age. It would take him years, or rather decades to catch up with them.

Annoyed, he continued sparring with Grohn and in the process learned that the Urgal had trained from a young age to be a runner in the games that took place in Alagaesia every year. Instead he had become a rider but he longed to go back to watch the games and cheer for his friends and family members. Tristan did not know whether that would be possible.

After finishing their sparring they went to train with crossbows. This training did not differ much from what he had done with Buster and Grion and he realised that he was indeed good. He was not better than the elves, they could shoot moving targets as easy as if they were walking, but compared to the humans, urgals and dwarves - even some of the older ones - he was quite good.

When the sun started dropping in the horizon, Octavian told them that his lesson was done for today and they would need to return tomorrow for the same training. Tristan was tired but nowhere near as close to tired, as he had been yesterday and guessed that their lessons were over.

However, Adrian and Gwen took a different path from the one that led back to Glieonard and the dorms and told the riders to follow them. Tristan watched as the green valley gave its place to rocky land and then, there at the end of the stone hill, appeared to be a small hut. From the top of the stone hill, he could see the beach with the black sand they had landed on and he could make out the outline of some buildings, as well as a dock were a few ships rested.

As they grew closer to the circular, wooden hut Tristan realised that it wasn't big but neither small. It could not fit dragons but it could easily fit thirty humans.

Gwen raised her hand in the air and told the riders to wait and stay silent, while Adrian approached the hut slowly. He gently tapped the wooden door and then quickly run to the other side of the building but Tristan could not understand how he did so without making any noise.

The wooden door opened to reveal a small, old woman, with a face eased and lined like a dry, withered apple and white, shaggy hair with stiff bangs. Her eyes were closed and she held a wooden staff. Her right hand slightly shook as she took a step forward and then she smiled.

"Ah, young elf. Good try but I know exactly where you are" she said and her voice was almost a whisper.

Adrian appeared behind the wooden hut holding a small dagger but the old woman still had her eyes closed. She put her palm on top of her head and appeared even smaller than before. She was so defenceless and helpless that Tristan wanted to run to her side and protect her, even though he highly doubted he would be able to beat Adrian in a match.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Gwen pressed her hand over it and startled, Tristan watched Adrian attacking the woman as silent as a simile.

What happened afterwards took his breath away and he watched, stunned, as the old woman slid from the dagger's edge, her back turning in an unnatural angle for her age and kicked the dagger from Adrian's hand. The elf recoiled and went to pick it up but he was trying to counteract the woman's blows at the same time so he couldn't quite get to it.

The old woman was moving in such a way, that to an outsider, it would look like she was dancing. Her eyes were still closed and she was humming a melody while elegantly counteracting Adrian's blows. The elf was becoming tired, it appeared, and Tristan noticed an opening in his defense stance. The woman did not hesitate to take the opportunity and she jumped in the air, making a swirling turn in the process, picked the dagger and held it against the elf's throat.

"I win" she purred, smiling widely and revealing her edgy teeth.

She let Adrian go and he rubbed his neck and faced the riders.

"This is Maud and she is the Master of Agility" he said, introducing her to the riders. The old woman smiled politely.

"Indeed I am, although I am not a rider" she said and smiled again.

"There are a few creatures here, who are not riders, mostly elves and dwarves. They settled here, near the beach, when Eragon arrived and helped him make this island into what it is today although later the riders helped as well" Gwen further explained and Maud nodded, clapping her hands together.

"So true indeed!" she added.

"What is she?" Tristan whispered to Grohn, who stood close to him. The Urgal shrugged.

"They say she is a werecat although I am not so sure" he admitted.

"Now, now, stop mattering amongst yourselves and follow me inside, in my small hut" the woman purred again and the riders did what she told them.

Once inside, Tristan realized that only one side of the building was made out of wood. The other appeared to be made out of a translucent material the likes of which he had not seen before. He walked closer and run his finger over it. It was smooth.

"Take a pillow from your right" the woman said and Tristan saw her momentarily opening her eyes. They were the palest shade of grey but they were as clear and lively as the water which run down the snowy mountains.

"Now make yourselves comfortable" she instructed and arranged them in a way so that each rider had a distance of about a square from the other. Tristan looked at Kayla, Rikon and Laer who all appeared perplexed as they took their sits down on the wooden floor.

He sat in the most comfortable position he could think of, but which would also allow him to see what the woman and the rest of the riders were doing. Some riders had their whole body on the wooden floor and the pillows behind their heads.

From his position, Tristan could see the sun which was dropping further down in the horizon, close to where the sea was. He could also see some clouds and the edgy rocks that protruded from where they were.

"Now, take a deep breath in. And relax" she said, speaking softly. "Closing your eyes might help" she added and he followed her advice.

After a few moments the woman spoke again.

"Are you all comfortable enough?"

Everyone answered positively.

"Splendid!" she said clapping her hands again. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind staying in that position, completely still, for the next hour?"

The riders answered positively again although not all did so at the same time.

Tristan could feel the sun's rays on his skin and sense on which part of his body they were. This was his only way of keeping track of time as he felt his muscles wanting to twitch and was afraid of swallowing. He cursed himself for sitting cross-legged.

He did not know who the first to crumble was but Maud shook her head, disappointed. Tristan had his eyes closed, a solid choice as he wouldn't be allowed to blink if he had kept them open but he was curious to find out who it had been. After a few moments he heard Maud tsking again and this continued until the woman clapped her hands.

"Open your eyes, riders" she said and when Tristan did so he realised that all riders were sitting in the positions they had been before. The sun hadn't even dropped as much in the horizon as he had originally thought.

"Next time you will be better prepared to stay still longer. Most of you moved, even slightly. Now, we shall continue with the Dance of Snake and Crane or the Rimgar as the older riders and elves like to call it"

"Repeat after me" she said and brought her hands from the side to above her head. Then, she bent down, touched the ground with her palms and jumped back.

Tristan had trouble doing this and so did Rikon and his sister. Laer appeared to be more flexible. The elves were the best in this exercise again, compared to everyone else. Urgals, humans and dwarves looked clumsy when they were doing this exercise.

Maud tsked.

"Now, now, you can't be a fighter and a rider if you can't move your body in all the right angles. Yes, a rider must know how to wield a sword and a crossbow, and yes a rider must have stamina but where would you be if you moved your body like a rock? At the bottom of the mountain!" she said and jumped in the air, doing a backflip.

"There are four levels in the Rimgar and you cannot progress to the next one if you don't master the one you are in already. The first action was what we did today. I expect you to have mastered this move by the end of autumn" she said and purred once again, slowly walking to the outside of her hut.

Once she was outside, Rikon turned to Tristan.

"I swear vegetables and fruits do not agree with my stomach. And having to sit in one position for this long without moving, certainly did not help... "the dwarf was saying, blushing.

Tristan burst out in a fit of laughter and earned the perplexed glances of the riders, especially Adrian's. The elf looked at him, with his usual air of superiority.

After finishing the Rimgar, they returned to their dorms to have supper there, instead of the Grand Hall. Their dragons landed near their structures. Aiedail had a goat in her mouth, Onyx a shark and Vertigo some fish.

_We managed to smuggle some meat. Roast it if you want, we have had enough,_ Onyx said in the riders' minds and Tristan nodded to him, appreciatively. It was interesting how Onyx had both a deep and melodic voice.

Somehow Rikon was able to get out of his dorm and brought along with him the dwarven girl, Maurine, who had been sparring before with Kayla. Maurine had short, hazelnut coloured hair, white skin and rosy cheeks. She was very shy but as they all started talking, she seemed to relax and she told them she had been picked as a rider only last year.

Maurine talked more with Kayla while Laer, Tristan and Rikon talked more amongst themselves but that didn't matter, because as soon as the meat had roasted and they brought out the vegetables and fruit they were all in a cheery mood, looking at the dark sky and hearing the occasional growl of a dragon.

_Being a rider suits you_, Vertigo commented and Tristan smiled.

_It is what I have always wanted to be._

**A/N: Don't forget to leave reviews :)! Next chapter will be called First Time... And this is all I am saying for now... Until next week, enjoy!**


	25. First Time

**First time**

Two weeks had passed since they arrived on Dis Atilan and the young riders had fallen into an easy rhythm.

They would wake up every day, just before the sun rose and they would run for a couple of hours all together. Training at swords and bows with Octavian came next and then the riders would be split into smaller groups. Some older riders would train with magic, others would be taught history and the ancient language and others would join their dragons in flying. At the end of the day all riders would join again, to do the Rimgar.

Laer and Rikon could already fly with their dragons while Tristan eagerly awaited his own turn and Kayla was indifferent. Absentmindedly he was drawing patterns of wings on his parchment paper which earned him a smack at the back of his head.

"Attention, young rider!" the dwarven master of history and ancient language said and Tristan raised his head only to find the eyes of Grohn, Laer, Rikon, Kayla and Maurine looking at him.

They were in the library, sitting on wooden desks and writing the ancient language symbols. He sighed.

"What is the symbol for the sound 'ah'? Who was the King of Alagaesia before Galbatorix?" the dwarven master, named Mirin, asked.

Tristan felt his mind going blanc.

_Is it cheating if I tell you?,_ Vertigo asked.

_You know the answer? Tell me!,_ Tristan demanded.

The dragon thought about it.

_No, it's your lesson._

_Cruel._

_Oh, why, thank you,_ Vertigo replied and then Tristan felt the dragon's consciousness slipping further away.

He sighed.

"I don't know" he replied and as he expected, master Mirin looked at him disappointed.

"You will never progress to magic lessons if you cannot, at least, say some phrases and words in the Ancient Language" he warned and shook his head. "From now on, it is best to converse amongst yourselves using the Language of the elven kin rather than the common tongue"

Sighs of exasperation echoed around the room and their lesson continued. Even though Tristan found sparring, archery and even the Rimgar exciting, history lessons were nothing but boring to him. Rikon and Laer on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying them, while Kayla was indifferent to them and everything else.

When the lesson came to an end he was happy to leave the library and head to Maud's wooden hut. It was quite relaxing to look at the sun setting every evening as he concentrated on staying still and then completing the first stage of Rimgar.

On their way back to their dorms he saw Vertigo sitting atop a big oak tree. He found it strange not to see the rest of the dragons with him.

_What are you doing?,_ he asked his grey-blue dragon.

Vertigo smirked and moved his wings, which glittered silver.

_Waiting for you._

Perplexed Tristan headed to his dragon's direction.

"I will catch up with you guys, later" he said to Laer and Kayla when the two riders shot him questioning looks.

He run to where the tall oak tree was and was happy to find that he did not need to catch his breath when he stopped.

_How are you able to stand on top of the tree and not fall?,_ he asked his dragon who looked down. At that moment, Vertigo very much reminded him of a tiger waiting for its prey, as he moved his dark blue tail from side to side.

_Wait… You think only the riders have to practise agility? Our lessons do not involve just flying, you know. You should pay more attention_, Vertigo said and smirked.

_I pay attention… But only at the exciting parts…_

_Like flying?,_ his dragon asked.

_Exactly_, Tristan nodded.

Vertigo moved his tail again and Tristan studied the dragon. He had grown more during their time here but his shape was different to other dragons. Onyx and Fiord were rounder around their belly while Vertigo was long and lean almost like Aiedail and Adrian's dragon. His wings had grown as well and he noticed that feathers covered the top part of them while a thin silver membrane was at the bottom.

His dragon wasn't the only one who had changed. Tristan was changing as well. His body was leaner, stronger and more agile than before, his ears were starting to get pointy and his wavy, dirty blond hair had grown, now reaching his chin. It was annoying to train when it was falling in front of his eyes but instead of cutting it, he had decided to fashion it into thick bangs and braids.

He moved one braid to the side and looked at Vertigo again, who was studying him carefully.

_What?,_ he asked perplexed.

_Are you not going to join me?_

_You mean to the top of the tree?_

_For starters, yes,_ Vertigo said and chuckled. Tristan sighed and started climbing on the tree, holding tightly on the strong branches.

As soon as he reached the place where Vertigo was, he looked down. Even though there wasn't such a big distance from him to the ground he felt his blood going cold.

The dragon looked at him, an amused expression on his face.

_You can sit on my back, you know_, Vertigo said and Tristan realised what the dragon had in mind.

He felt his heart racing inside his chest and jumped on the dragon's back, trying to contain his excitement.

_Are you ready?_ Vertigo asked as Tristan pressed his thighs around the dragon's neck at the spot just above his back.

_Yes_, he replied unsteadily and felt the dragon flexing his wings and walking to the edge of the tree.

_Prepare yourself!,_ Vertigo shouted as he let go of the tree and dropped to the ground. At the last minute he opened his silver wings and rose to the sky.

He wasn't going fast but Tristan held on tightly, regardless. As they rose higher he could see the landscape of the island and the buildings around. It was a beautiful sight to behold, as green gave way to grey and then red as they flew close to the volcano.

Tristan dared to look inside and saw the dark blood red liquid boiling. He held tighter. Often a sense of dizziness would overcome him if he looked down for too long, but then he would concentrate on the dragon's scales instead and it would pass.

The inside of his thighs started aching as the skin of his legs rubbed against Vertigo's rough scales.

Suddenly the dragon decided to increase their speed. Whereas before they were flying in a leisurely pace, now he was flapping his wings fast and Tristan could feel the whoosh of air. They passed the edge of the highest mountain so fast and so close that Tristan had been certain Vertigo would slice his lower body against it. Instead of decreasing his speed though, the dragon only went faster and faster.

_Vertigo! _

_Hmm?_

_I think you might be going a bit too fast…_

_Ha! Nonsense!,_ he said and quickly ducked to the side only to correct his course seconds later. This was however enough for Tristan to almost slip from the dragon's back and he held on Vertigo's thorns tightly. His face must have paled and his stomach lurched as he swallowed bile.

_Oops,_ the dragon said as Tristan saw the landscape soaring past him in a speed he was sure was not ordinary, even for creatures of the air.

_I think… I think we need to stop_, Tristan whispered as he felt bile rising in his throat again.

_Okay,_ Vertigo simply said and just like that, he faced the ground, put his wings against his back and fell.

Tristan would have screamed if he could but they were dropping in such a fast rate that he could only gawk.

The land rushed to meet them but just at the last moment Vertigo extended his wings and rose upwards. They floated in a straight line for a few moments before the dragon landed back on land.

Tristan crumbled on the earth and puked at least three times before he rose again. The feeling of vertigo still clung to him but he tried to ignore it.

Vertigo winked at him.

_It was good wasn't it?_

_I believe we have a different definition of the word good. _

The dragon chuckled and Tristan wiped his mouth.

_Do you always fly in this way?_

_If I get the chance, yes._

_Can you try for a steadier ride, next time?_

_I can try but I am not making any promises._

Tristan tsked and shook his head as another wave of vertigo came to him and he threw up.

_Why, oh why did I have to name you like this?,_ Tristan asked both himself and the dragon.

_Hey, I have a beautiful name! Besides, it's not my fault that you are afraid of heights_, he said defensively.

Tristan groaned.

_You were not supposed to find out!_

_Yes and you did an amazing job of hiding it from me,_ Vertigo said and chuckled again. Then he looked at him sternly. _Seriously though, you need to protect your thoughts better. Try to remember what you get taught in the agility, ancient language and history lessons as well. They might come in handy at some point._

_Doubtful,_ Tristan said and smiled lazily.

_Do you want to learn how to use magic?_

_Of course._

_Then you need to progress to the next level._

_At the moment I can't even lift a rock. Kayla lifted a whole river, Rikon has been doing great and even Laer managed to get a rock to tremble slightly the other day. When I look at a rock it does nothing for me_, Tristan said and sighed exasperated.

_Maybe you are not trying hard enough._

_Yes, because it's boring._

_You have your answer then._

As Vertigo flew back to the human dorms, Tristan mulled over his thoughts.

_Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will try harder,_ he promised both to himself and Vertigo.

…

"_Stenr Reisa_" Laer said gently to the rock he was holding in his right hand. The object trembled and then rose.

Satisfied he placed the rock back onto the ground.

"Was that the first time you managed to get it to rise?" Kayla asked, curious, her hair falling in front of her eyes. Annoyed she pulled it back and tied it into a ponytail.

They were having supper outside of the human dorm and they were alone, since Tristan had decided to stay with Vertigo and Gwen and Gas were busy running some errands. Usually they had supper with other riders as well, like Rikon, Maurine and Grohn. The last two had only been in Dis Atilan a year, so they were closer to them in terms of both training and age. Maurine was sweet and shy and Kayla had taken an instant liking to the girl.

When they sparred, Maurine was gentler than the rest of the riders as well. However she still beat Kayla every time as the human knew nothing about swords, arrows or wrestling.

"Indeed. I am guessing you have not tried using magic?" Laer asked her, bringing her back from her trail of thoughts. A wind blew a few hair strands in front of his eyes.

Kayla shivered, even though the wind wasn't cold. Autumn was approaching and the temperatures were dropping but they were still able to sit outside. Lower temperatures and a few clouds also helped in terms of running because the sun wasn't always burning their skin.

Laer tied his straight, black hair into a ponytail and Kayla noticed his ears had sharp angles, almost like elven ears. He noticed her looking at him and he smiled.

"So?" he asked again, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Yes, you are correct, I have not practised any magic. Until the times comes when we will have magic lessons I don't think it's necessary for me to practise" she replied and looked at the sky.

She noticed that the moon was half full and clouds were hiding part of it.

Laer laughed and she looked at him surprised. She wasn't sure she had ever heard him laugh.

"A bit overconfident?" he asked her but not unkindly. Kayla shook her head.

"I did not mean it in this way. I just don't want to use magic if I don't have to" she replied.

Laer studied her for a few seconds. Somewhere, above them, Aiedail and Onyx were flying as well, repeating what they had learnt from their lessons.

"In the same way that you won't talk to Aiedail, or won't spar or won't study the Ancient Language unless you have to" he replied and for a brief moment Kayla was surprised by his insight.

She looked at him and for a second his eyes appeared golden rather than black. Then he looked away.

"It's something you don't like, I can tell, but at least make an effort" he said and picked the rock he had been holding before.

"Why?" Kayla asked him, her tone serious. She desperately wanted a reason why she should be doing any of this. She did not like it and it was just something she had to do, a chore.

"We only get one chance in life, Kayla. Do you want to spend the rest of yours doing something just because you have to?"

She stayed silent for a bit.

"There must be something you enjoy, even a little, in your training" he added and smiled to her.

Kayla looked at the sky again, thoughtful.

"I like magic. I like the feeling of it, of using it, even though I know it's dangerous" she replied and bit her lower lip.

"Magic is a weapon and a tool like a sword. Everything in the wrong hands and without the proper amount of training can turn deadly. But if you practise…" he said and passed her the rock he had been holding "…then you can do the most amazing things"

Laer had been holding another rock and he whispered the words of the ancient language. The rock rose.

Kayla stared at her rock and then repeated the words, closing her eyes. She felt the flow of energy but this time she did not stop it and welcomed it. The energy was like a tendril, moving and dancing, taking the shape she wanted it to.

"Open your eyes, Kayla. Slowly" Laer whispered in her ear and as she did so, she noticed that not only her rock had risen but also all the rocks that were around them in a five meter radiance.

A feeling of terror begun to seize her but Laer put his hands over her shoulders.

"Shh...Trust in your abilities. Gently" he said and Kayla took in a deep breath of air. The rocks remained were they were.

"Now release your hold on magic. Slowly" he said and she did exactly that, watching the rocks return to their previous position. When they were on the ground she let herself relax and realised with satisfaction that not only had she managed to have complete control over the magic but also she did not feel drained afterwards.

"I did it" she simply said and looked at Laer who was smiling back to her. "How did you know what things I needed to do in order…?"

Someone was running to the human dorm and they both turned their attention towards it. Tristan stopped, only a few centimetres away from them and then puked on the side.

Kayla rose from her sit and looked at him, concerned. He shook his head quickly.

"First flight? Not fun" he replied as they heard Vertigo's satisfied growl.

**A/N: Don't forget to leave reviews, follow/fav, you know the drill! It will only take a minute and keep me going :) !**


	26. Lesson 3: Flying

**Lesson 3: Flying**

**A/N: Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter :)! Whoever the Guest Review was from, know that you put a big smile on my face! I know these chapters might be going a bit slower in terms of events but I promise the pace will increase soon! (Also AryaxEragon, MurtaghxNasuada chapters will be coming soon as well!)**

Fall had settled in turning the green leaves of some trees to yellow and red. Rain showers were now common. If Tristan had thought that running in the heat was tough, running in the rain was a lot harder. It made his clothes stick to his skin, chilled his bones and turned the mud slippery, leaving much room for mistakes and slipping.

The time they run each morning had not increased but the distance they covered, had. Today, when the young riders reached the clearing in which they sparred, they didn't even need to catch their breath.

"We are getting better at this" he said happily to Rikon who nodded.

"Indeed you are, but today we shall do something different and change the usual groups you practise in. Today you will spar with someone who is more or less experienced than you" Octavian said and smiled widely, showing them an array of straight, white teeth.

The Master of Sparring moved around them, pointing at certain people, pausing, then rearranging them, then pausing again. After everyone was in groups he looked at his students with a satisfied expression.

"Now remember. Try to be easy on your opponent but, without, however, being too easy on them. Sparring should never be easy" he said and smiled again.

Tristan looked at his opponent who was no one else than Adrian. The elf pressed his lips together and Tristan wasn't sure what to make of his expression. Octavian gave Adrian a wooden sword which the elf looked at with a grimace of distaste.

Other sparring groups included May and Kayla, then Maya and Maurine and Laer and Gas.

Tristan felt something touching his shoulder and he turned around to see Adrian glaring at him. He was in a fighting position, his legs apart and slightly kneeling to the ground while on his right hand he held the sword.

"There are things I need to attend to later on, so if you don't mind…" he said in an almost polite tone.

Tristan nodded and went into fighting stance as well. They started circling each other until he decided to make the first move. Adrian moved to the side, counteracting his blow and managing in the process to kick the sword from Tristan's hands. His fighting style reminded Tristan of Maud's but the elf wasn't at the same level just yet, even though no one could deny he was very good.

Adrian motioned to him to pick up his word. Tristan did just that, but this time he waited until the elf attacked first. It made no difference to the battle's outcome, however, as Adrian made an intricate move, pressed his hand in a spot just above Tristan's arm and Tristan dropped the sword.

Their fight continued but it was pointless since Tristan had no way of beating the elf. It did not matter whether Tristan attacked first or not, the result would still be the same. Sometimes he got hit in the ribs, other times in the chin. He hated Adrian for this, because he was certain the elf could easily beat him without causing him injuries.

They weren't fighting long but Adrian suddenly dropped the wooden sword on the ground.

"Come on, pick it up" Tristan said to the elf but Adrian looked at him in a solemn manner and shook his head.

"I don't need to" he replied in an almost arrogant tone.

Tristan attacked him but the elf somehow blocked him and wriggled away from his reach. He hit Tristan at the side with a punch and then smiled.

Tristan coughed and narrowed his eyes at the elf. This time Adrian attacked first and again Tristan was thrown on the ground, mud covering his trousers.

The elf turned his back to him and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Tristan demanded. Adrian did not give him a reply just walked to Octavian's side and whispered something to the Master of Sparring. Octavian shook his head and Adrian walked back.

Adrian's lips had formed a tight line and this time he hit Tristan with what appeared to be full strength. Tristan was trying very hard to counteract his blows but it wasn't working. Bruises were already covering his whole body and at some point he started spitting blood.

"Enough" Octavian said and walked to their side. He looked at Adrian sternly. The elf's hair hadn't even moved from its usual position.

Octavian helped Tristan up.

Tristan coughed and then realised that every one of the students was looking at him. Gwen was sitting at a corner, her black hair in a ponytail and he couldn't discern much from her expression. He felt embarrassed and ashamed and tried to clean his dirty hands on his shirt but then thought better of it.

Adrian was looking very smug at that moment and Tristan wished he could punch him.

_You need more training, that's all_, Vertigo said in his mind and Tristan saw his dragon biting the tail of Adrian's dragon, who let out a small moan.

Adrian's eyebrows pressed together and Tristan managed a small smile.

"Riders… Stop fighting amongst yourselves! You are here to train in order to be able to fight the real enemy. Five riders have been sent back to Alagaesia to protect the people there and give _them_ and _you_ a chance. I expect more from you" Octavian said in a serious tone, his arms crossing over his chest and his muscles flexing.

Adrian nodded and Tristan looked on the ground.

"I apologise ebrithil. I know how much is at stake" the elf said, moving to the back of the group and at that moment he appeared to be in regret.

Kayla, Rikon and Laer quickly walked to where Tristan was, with Kayla pushing her way through, a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you all right?" Rikon asked and Tristan quickly nodded but his friends still looked troubled.

"Your lesson is done for today, riders. I hear that you have other lessons to attend to" Octavian said and smiled to them, showing them once again his white array of teeth.

"Does he mean the Rimgar? It's way too early for that" Rikon said, looking at the sun, which was not even in the middle of the sky yet.

"No, we are going to have a flying lesson today" Gwen said as she approached them and kneeled next to Tristan. Her expert fingers traced the edges of some of his cuts and bruises and he tried not to wince in pain. A black curl fell in front of her face and Tristan felt his breath quickening.

_Excited?,_ Vertigo asked in a teasing manner.

_For flying, yes!,_ Tristan replied but Vertigo smirked.

_And for other things as well, I guess. Like the pretty human rider next to you_, the dragon said and Tristan tried not to blush.

"So I think that sums up the fact I need more training" he said casually, trying to make a joke out of his situation and smiling to Gwen.

She whispered some words over his wounds in the ancient language and Tristan felt the pain lessening. He watched his flesh stitching back together and where cuts, blood and bruises stood before, now there was only smooth skin.

"Or maybe someone just needs to be a bit more gentle next time" the human dorm master said, eyeing Adrian who was doing something else at the moment.

"Maybe I will be put in the same group as you next time so you will be able to teach me better!" Tristan said and smiled to her.

He did not expect her to smile back but she did.

"Maybe" she replied and led the riders down a path they had not previously taken. All the young riders were in the group apart from Adrian.

"Where did Adrian go?" Kayla asked and looked behind her shoulder.

"He said he had some business to attend to" Tristan said and waved his hand.

"He appeared to be quite troubled today. Maybe this is why he was behaving in such a manner" Laer replied.

"Is that not how he always behaves?" Tristan asked, rising an eyebrow and smiling in irony.

Ahead of them Maya and May were laughing amongst themselves at what appeared to be an inside joke.

"Aye, but elves are peculiar I am telling you" Rikon said, looking at the twin girls and started scratching the beginnings of a new beard.

Soon they reached a hill which overlooked the valley in which the riders' dorms and Glieonard were. Their dragons were waiting for them and Eragon and Saphira were there as well.

"Riders, welcome. Ride your dragons. The elves and the dwarves of the shore have gifted us with leather saddles. They are already strapped on your dragons' back. In time you will learn how to make these yourselves but for now it's time to fly!" he said and rode Saphira.

Tristan run to Vertigo's side and admired the leather, smooth saddle.

_Let's hope my legs will be okay at the end of this. Last time we flew I had to bandage them three times!,_ he said.

_We shall see. And if not, I am sure the human rider won't mind healing them_, Vertigo said and he almost smirked.

Tristan ignored the burning sensation on his cheeks and climbed onto the saddle, using one of Vertigo's thorns for support. In the last couple of weeks, he and Vertigo had flown together as often as they could and Tristan was slowly starting to get over his fear of heights.

The rest of the riders were on their dragons as well, all apart from one.

"Kayla, will you not join us today?" Eragon asked the girl and she looked at him and then Aiedail, who was pacing impatiently.

"I will wait here" she answered calmly and Eragon's brows pulled together, a sad expression on his face.

"You will attend Mirin's class for history lessons then and Aiedail will join us for flying. Your day cannot go to waste" he said in a more serious tone.

Tristan was surprised by the fact that Eragon was not pushing his sister to ride her dragon. It probably would not be right but still he did not understand his sister's behaviour and he was certain that once she flew with Aiedail she would change her mind about being a dragon rider.

"This, I can do" Kayla replied and took the path back to Glieonard and the dorms.

Gwen and her dragon, a copper coloured male named Saturn, walked next to where he was.

"I think you should talk to your sister once we get back. I am a dorm master, this is true, but I do not think I could persuade her to be more open. No matter what troubles her it is not good to abandon her relationship with her dragon" she said and pointed to Aiedail, who was waiting impatiently for them to fly and swinging her tail from side to side as smoke was rising from her nostrils.

"I know" Tristan said and sighed as the dragons took off.

Flying with so many dragons around him was an amazing, exhilarating and slightly scary experience so he soon forgot about Kayla and her dragon problems. Sometimes, Laer and Rikon would fly close to him and they would start conversations about the most obscure things. Soon though, it became apparent that flying was not all fun, but business too.

Eragon was instructing them on how to keep their balance and how to do intricate moves while flying on their dragons. The last part was particularly scary as they had to walk on the saddle while flying at least 5 km above land. Even the older riders and elves were not completely confident when walking on the saddle so Tristan took courage from that and tried his best.

Saturn was flying next to him and Gwen seemed unsure whenever she walked to her dragon's head and back.

"Try to keep your feet closer!" Tristan shouted at her but she rose her eyebrows. Saturn flew closer to them.

"What?" she asked.

"Feet, closer!" he told her again and as she did so she regained a bit more balance. She smiled to herself.

"Thanks!" she shouted back, sounding surprised.

"It's all about the toes. You just place your right toe in front, keeping your strength on this one and then…" Tristan said but then he started losing his balance. His upper body was wobbling and in that moment both his legs shot up in the air and he landed on his saddle with just his lower body.

"Orgh" he moaned and his eyes snapped shut.

_Stop trying to show off. You are making a fool of ourselves_, Vertigo groaned.

_Maybe if you were flying in a straighter line this wouldn't have happened_, Tristan replied.

_Hey, don't blame this on me!_, the dragon argued.

Gwen was smiling and Saturn flew closer to them.

"Are you okay?" she asked him and Tristan nodded.

"Just an unstable landing, that's all" he replied, smiling back.

_An unstable landing happened when he was a baby, actually_, Vertigo said, speaking to Gwen's and Saturn's minds.

The human rider and dragon laughed while Tristan tried to casually smile back.

_Riders, follow the flying pattern_, Eragon said, speaking to the riders' minds.

Tristan nodded and to his disappointment was placed further back, away from Gwen but close to Rikon and Laer.

_Hope he asks us to race today_, Vertigo whispered in his mind.

_That would be quite interesting actually. Shall we place bets on who will fall from their saddle?, _Tristan asked.

_Cruel, but I like it. My first guess… You_, Vertigo said happily.

They continued playing the guessing game but in the end they did not race and simply landed back to the hill they had started on and walked to Maud's shed to do the Rimgar and then to their dorms for sleep.

It was an exhilarating day but he was happy to be back in his bed.

_What do you think of Gwen?,_ he asked Vertigo.

The dragon yawned.

_All humans appear the same to me. You obviously find her interesting enough, however, _he replied.

Tristan stayed silent for a bit but then couldn't keep himself from asking another question.

_Do you think she sees me as cool and handsome? _

_She probably sees you as a clumsy baboon._

_Seriously?_

_Goodnight, Tristan._

….

Murtagh looked at his fellow riders. One was an elf, the other a dwarf, then a human and last an urgal. They appeared well trained and experienced.

Yet he would rather be alone with Thorn.

_It's just for a bit,_ the dragon said in a reassuring tone.

_I better hope so_, the red rider replied.

He stared at the black markings left on the trees in the forest. They were the same as the ones made from the shadown wyrms' black liquid jets.

_We always arrive too late. The enemy seems to be one step ahead of us,_ he said annoyed and punched the bark of a tree, leaving a mark.

_There are signs of battle_, Melor said.

_But no dead bodies_, Stoic added.

_Whoever was here was either killed or taken_, Ingrid, the female human rider said.

Murtagh was certain that they had been taken, but he did not want to say so to the riders. They probably guessed as much already, but in the short time he had been with them he knew that Stoic, had had a close relationship with one of the riders that had disappeared in Alagaesia and he didn't want to spark the Urgal's anger just yet.

_They did not attack further into the elven territory. We should inform the riders_, the elf said.

Murtaugh watched as the elven rider, Findet, whispered some words on top of a water puddle and the face of a young elven male rider appeared. He was surrounded by some of the elder riders but his anxiety was evident. He probably hadn't been with the elves long enough to know how to conceal his emotions.

"The elven territory appears to be intact. They only attacked at the outskirts of the forest" Findet said.

The elven male instantly relaxed.

"You can head back to your dorms now, Adrian" one of the elders said and as soon as the young elf left, Findet talked to them about the rest of the things they had found. What worried them the most was that the wyrms had managed to come very close to Du Weldenvarden. Even Galbatorix had known well enough to stay away from the elven territory.

Murtaugh was playing with the end of a wooden stick when he felt the familiar feeling of dread and horror settling over him.

_Prepare yourselves!,_ he shouted into the riders' minds just as a giant shadow wyrm appeared.

**Again, don't forget to leave reviews, follow/fav! **


	27. Ramirblaka

**Ramirlblaka**

Winter was quickly approaching, the temperatures were dropping and the riders were preparing. Food supplies were kept near the Grand Hall and wood was cut for fires although with all the dragons around, this was not always necessary. The fact that they got warm water from the hot springs under the volcano also helped with the morning chills.

Kayla had her head under the water and her cheeks were flaming but she enjoyed it. Maybe it was a repercussion from all her energy usage during the Shade's attack but she needed the almost boiling water to bathe every single day. It also helped her muscles relax and it was nice to be alone with her thoughts. Even for a little while.

Her daily schedule had not changed much during the last month compared to the rest of the riders. During most afternoons they practiced flying while she did history, sparring and ancient language lessons. History and Ancient Language lessons were a mere repeat of what she had done with the previous riders and she was certain it was an indirect punishment from Eragon for her denial to ride Aiedail.

Tristan had tried talking to her, saying how much she would enjoy flying and she had listened to him but had still said no. Laer had also tried talking to her and even though he had a way of making her see things from his perspective, she had still said no. She still remembered the conversation they had had though. The one about getting only one shot at life.

Indeed, she had started enjoying sparring, history, Rimgar, Ancient Language lessons and the most recent lessons on saddle making but that didn't mean she was going to ride Aiedail anytime soon. She understood everyone's feelings and opinions, she understood Aiedail's distaste and anger but she could simply not bring herself to doing this. Too many dark memories sparked whenever she opened herself to the dragon.

The thing she enjoyed most of all, however, was magic. Even though they had yet to have any lessons on the topic she practiced by herself every evening after the end of her additional trainings, while the riders were flying. She was becoming quite good at controlling the energy flow. At the moment she was trying very hard to reduce the energy usage as much as possible so that only one small rock rose and only for a few centimetres. She had tried using magic in other ways as well and the fact that she was slowly becoming fluent in the Ancient Language was helping a lot. Her favourite spell was to have grass and flowers grow. Even though winter was imminent, she could still make summer flowers bloom.

Her need for air made her rise to the water's surface, where steam rose. She touched her cheeks which were aflame and decided it was time to exit the bath tub. Somewhere at the back of her mind she felt Aiedail stirring.

Kayla put on her usual training kit, leather pants and a linen shirt but also added a vest on top to protect her from the cold.

She rushed to the storage room to find Tristan and Laer already there.

"…and then Vertigo dived to the side! Did you see Adrian's expression? I am sure he must have hated that!" Tristan said to Laer, sounding pleased with himself as he dove into a bag of apples.

"Good morning, Kayla" Laer said, noticing her presence and she nodded to him and her brother in acknowledgement.

"Today we are offering porridge, honey and fruits" Tristan said pointing at the food.

"Porridge and honey" she replied and went to serve herself while Gwen and Gas walked into the room.

"May I offer you a bowl of delicious porridge and hand-kneaded bread with jam, honey or fruits, my lady?" Tristan said to Gwen, smiling widely at her. The human rider smiled and said something in return while Kayla rose her eyebrows.

"My lady?" she whispered to Laer who was closer to her.

The rider shook his head and smiled.

"Long story. It started a few weeks ago during our flying lessons" he said.

"Oh" Kayla replied and she looked at her brother and Gwen, slightly perplexed.

After breaking their fast they headed to their usual spot near the volcano to train. Today it was cold, rainy and windy. Whatever heat she had acquired from her steaming hot bath, was slowly abandoning her.

When they finished their run she felt a lot warmer and Octavian continued with his sparring lessons. For the time being, Octavian enjoyed putting them in different groups every day, but she always lost in the sparring matches. In the beginning she hadn't cared much, but now it had started bothering her that everyone was better than her.

Today she was put to spar against her brother. He smiled at her.

"Ready, little sister?" he asked and she rose an eyebrow. A few months ago she would have laughed if someone told her that she and her brother would be dragon riders and spar for real rather than play fight.

Now, she did not think of it as a joke.

"Let's do this!" she said and they started landing blows on each other. She was following Octavian's advice and moves, but still, she lost in the end. It hadn't even been a close match.

When they continued with archery lessons, she realised that her aim was improving, but it was nowhere near as good as Tristan's. By the end of the lesson the weather had changed and the clouds had all but disappeared, so the riders were sent off for flying lessons. Every rider was excited today, because they would visit Ramirblaka, the island of the wild dragons. Kayla was simply excited to practise magic.

She gave a quick glance at the riders and Aiedail's piercing glare and then headed to the library in Glieonard to meet Mirin.

…

Eragon had been promising them for weeks now that they would visit Ramirblaka. Today was supposed to be the day but when Tristan had seen the weather he knew the plan would be cancelled again. When the skies had cleared up, however, he run to the hill with the rest of the riders, excitement coursing through his veins. He put the saddle on Vertigo and pulled the straps tightly. An elf, named Bloghgarm, had shown him how to make and put a saddle on a dragon, only a few weeks ago and he always tried to be careful when tightening the straps. Rikon had almost slipped from Fiord's back the previous week because he hadn't pulled the straps tightly enough.

"Forty six seconds!" he shouted when he was done.

"Forty six? You are slow. I did it in forty" Rikon replied from his right hand side.

"We saw how that ended for you last week though" Tristan said and rose an eyebrow.

"It's hard for someone of my size to do this properly" the dwarf replied annoyed.

"So… How tall are you again? If you were standing next to turtle would the turtle be taller than you?" Tristan asked him.

Rikon shot him an irritated expression and Tristan smiled.

"That depends on the turtle. And I have told you before I am actually quite tall for a dwarf!"

"Sure… And I am Eragon Shadeslayer!" Tristan shouted, smiling widely.

Someone tapped his shoulder and he turned around to see Eragon. The rider did not smile and Tristan swallowed.

"Actually, I am Eragon. Now, ride your dragons if you want to get to Ramirblaka today. Don't forget it's quite a long way away…" he said.

"I did it in thirty eight seconds" Gwen whispered from behind them as she rode her bronze coloured dragon.

"Thirty five" Laer replied.

"I am impressed, young rider" she said and smiled to Laer. Tristan felt his heart twist a little bit. He went to say something but Vertigo took off before he was able to.

_Come on, I want to see the wild dragons for myself! Either say something to the human female or let her be. Your thoughts and fantasies are so mingled together that they bother and excite me at the same time,_ his dragon said and made a steep turn.

Tristan held on tightly as Vertigo followed Saphira's lead. Clear skies extended ahead of them.

_I can't help it_, he replied and the dragon groaned.

_Just do what dragons do. If you want to mate with her, approach her. If she says yes then all is good if she says no find another female. _

_Humans and dragons behave quite differently,_ Tristan replied, smiling.

_Yes, you make everything so much more complicated than it needs to be_!, he said just as he passed Adrian and his dragon with a smug expression.

The dragon and the elf tried to catch up with them but Vertigo was going too fast.

_Keep your strength, dragons. You will need it for your return_, Eragon advised and Vertigo slowed down until he was near Saturn and Onyx.

Laer and Gwen were talking amongst themselves while Adrian was riding near them. He glanced once at Tristan's direction and then quickly looked away while his dragon let out a small puff of smoke.

_Annoying elf_, he thought and Vertigo agreed.

They were soon able to see the outlines of mountains and hear the growls of dragons.

"We are close!" Rikon shouted excited.

As soon as he said that, dragons appeared in the distance. Their colours had the colours of the rainbows but their scales were dirty, almost un-kept and their appearance had a rough edge.

_Eka fricai un Shur'tugalar!,_ Eragon said in everybody's minds. We are riders and friends.

The wild dragons approached them and at that moment they looked just that. Wild.

Tristan could start to understand why the people in Alagaesia had been terrified of dragons for this long. He even understood why the elves had fought against them. They were large, deadly, terrifying creatures.

The biggest dragon of the group, a brass coloured male approached them.

_Eragon. We did not expect you_, a voice sounded but it did not come from the male in front of them. It felt as if more than one consciousness was talking to them and Tristan realised that it was the Eldunari.

_Did Umaroth not tell you?,_ Eragon inclined.

The brass coloured male flapped his wings and started circling them. Saphira was slightly smaller than him and regarded him with an air of caution. The rest of the dragons and riders stood behind her.

_We have not had contact with the Eldunari on Dis Atilan_, the voice replied and some dragons started circling them. There were more wild dragons than riders, or so it appeared, and the ages and sizes of them ranged.

_Your flight must have been long, young dragons. You can rest on land, _the same voice added.

Tristan looked at Eragon then at Rikon and Laer. Rikon raised his hands in the air in bewilderment.

_Land, young riders and dragons. I have some business to attend to_, Eragon said and Tristan saw the sapphire dragon moving quickly towards the island, Ramirblanka.

Gas was the first to fly to the island, earning the glances of both the wild and tame dragons. His dragon was a female and she landed near a lake where she gulped big mouthfuls of water.

_Shall we join him?,_ Tristan asked when Vertigo didn't follow the human's lead.

_I have flown to Ramirblanka, the wild dragon island, just to rest? I don't think so… I intend to explore!,_ Vertigo said, excited and flew straight towards the mountains.

Fiord followed them while Onyx and Saturn landed near the lake.

_Are you sure it's a good idea?, _Tristan asked, making one more try but his dragon would not change his mind so easily.

Aiedail was flying somewhere above them as well and Tristan could hear the whoosh of air from all the wings flapping.

Some wild dragons came extremely close to him while he and Vertigo explored the area but Vertigo seemed unaffected. Sometimes he would sniff the air, interested and change his course.

_There are not many females here,_ Vertigo said, puzzled.

_Should there have been more?,_ Tristan asked just as his dragon did an intricate turn and missed a dark brown dragon by a few inches. The creature let out a loud growl and Vertigo quickly flew back. Somewhere near them, Tristan could see Adrian and his dragon flying.

_Don't go too close to them. They seem more agitated than usual_, the elf warned in his mind and shot him a concerned expression.

_Do you think you can fly fast enough to lose Adrian?,_ Tristan asked Vertigo, annoyed to be followed around by the elf.

His dragon hmphed.

_Of course!_

Indeed, they flew fast towards some caves in the mountains, where Tristan noticed more dragons. The creatures started growling loudly when they saw them approaching and Tristan had to squint his eyes to see what they were guarding.

_Eggs!_

Another growl sounded, one which was a lot closer than the female dragons guarding their eggs, and Tristan looked up to see the jaws of a copper dragon.

Its talons scratched Vertigo's scales and his dragon let out a moan and started flying faster.

_Are you okay?,_ Tristan asked, startled by the attack, and looked behind him to see the bronze creature trying to bite Vertigo's tail. He held tightly on Vertigo's thorns and cursed his luck for not bringing any weapons with him.

His dragon was flapping his wings fast, appearing alarmed. A mahogany dragon appeared from their right hand side and with its talons grabbed part of the other dragon's tail. The creature stopped chasing them and Tristan saw Adrian.

_Run, you stupid human!,_ the elf said as he tried to push the other dragon back.

_Vertigo?,_ Tristan asked again and his dragon landed next to the lake where Saturn and Onyx where. Tristan slid from his dragon's back and went to check the wounds.

_It doesn't hurt much_, the dragon said just as Tristan noticed blood gushing from a spot beneath his left wing.

"What happened?" Gwen asked and run to them. Laer was next to her and touched Onyx's scales, looking at the sky concerned.

"A dragon attacked us. I am not sure why. We were close to the eggs so I th-"Tristan was saying but a loud snarl cut him mid-sentence.

The riders looked up and saw Aiedail trying to fight off the large brass coloured male they had noticed before. Her talons were slicing his thighs but he appeared unaffected by this. His jaws were trying to close around her neck and she kept on trying to push him back.

Onyx and Vertigo almost simultaneously let out loud roars and Saturn flapped his wings impatiently.

_Get back on. We need to go to her!,_ Vertigo shouted and his tail twitched from side to side, irritably.

Tristan did as his dragon commanded.

_You are injured though, do you think it's the best…._

_It's only a scratch!,_ the dragon roared and flew quickly to where Aiedail was as soon as Tristan climbed on his back. At the moment she was cornered by the large male, who had his wings around her and she had both a panicked and a deadly expression on her face.

Saturn and Onyx started growling at the male while Vertigo flew fast around him, causing gusts of wind to burst and disturb the brass male's balance. Aiedail moved from her corner and attacked the male from above with full force, tearing a big piece of flesh in the process.

The brass male let out a loud roar and stared at them with hate and malice. Suddenly from the corners of the island, many wild dragons appeared and started circling them.

_Keep formation, riders_, Gwen whispered into their minds but her voice almost quivered at the end.

Adrian and Gas appeared from below them and quickly flew to their direction. The two-headed dragon with May and Maya on, came from a hill nearby, but he was still too close to some of the wild males.

_Try to avoid attacking. Don't make a move unle-,_ Adrian said in their minds but the white two headed dragon attacked the two dragons closest to him and simultaneous roars erupted.

The wild dragons flew to them fast from all directions and jets of flames were now a common commotion. Vertigo and Aiedail moved their wings quickly and kept stealing glances around them.

Suddenly a sapphire blur came out of nowhere and let out such a lour growl that the wild dragons moved back.

_ENOUGH!,_ Eragon and Saphira shouted in unison and for a few moments the wild dragons paused their attack. _Riders, come. We need to leave. Now._

Adrian started heading back and the rest of the younger riders followed closely behind.

_Where is Rikon?,_ Laer asked at that moment and suddenly Tristan and Gwen realised that they had not seen the dwarven rider since the time they had arrived. Both the riders and dragons quickly scanned the island until Gwen spotted Rikon and told him to join them.

Rikon and Fiord flew ahead with confused expressions on their faces and Saturn, Vertigo and Onyx joined them. Saphira and Eragon were in the middle of the group, stealing cautious glances behind them.

Suddenly the brass coloured male flew fast to their direction as he spotted Aiedail near Vertigo. The purple dragon let out an irritated growl and snapped her jaws at the male. Saturn tried to intimidate the male, pausing for a bit and growling but the other dragon wasn't frightened and swung his tail forcefully to Gwen's direction.

Tristan let out a loud scream while Vertigo tried to fly to the back of the group where the fight was taking place, but he was not fast enough and the tail of the brass male hit Gwen. She slipped from her saddle and Tristan saw her body falling in mid-air. Saturn tried to reach her, but the brass male had his talons inside the other dragon's wings.

A desperate growl escaped both from Saturn's and Tristan's lips as they helplessly watched Gwen's body falling to its death.

**A/N: Don't forget to leave reviews, follow/fav :)! **


	28. The darkness within

**The darkness within. **

**A/N: While writing this chapter I was listening to Everybody wants to Rule the World by Lorde… For some reason I felt like it fit with this chapter so go ahead and listen to it if you want! **

At the last moment, Tristan watched Onyx dropping low and Laer catching Gwen's body into his arms. Tristan exhaled loudly, just as Saphira flew past them to face the giant brass male who was still holding onto Saturn's wings.

_If she exhales fire she will hurt Saturn as well!,_ Tristan shouted in Vertigo's mind. They helplessly watched the situation unfolding in front of them, as Onyx flew to where they were.

Tristan saw Eragon quickly whispering some words and then Saphira let out the biggest jet of flames the young rider had ever seen. The brass male tried to fly away from them, shielding his eyes with his wings, but the flames kept on coming and they scorched his skin. A protective layer stood around Saturn who let out a growl of pain, as the other male released him and he unsteadily flew towards Gwen, who was in Laer's arms.

Aiedail managed one last attack on the brass coloured male before Saphira let out another jet of flames.

_Riders, is everyone here? We are heading back!,_ Eragon repeated to them and this time they were all there and started flying away from Ramirblanka, fast.

Saphira and Eragon healed dragons' and riders' wounds in mid-air and their speed increased, but all dragons were tired and they were not going as fast as they would have liked. Some wild dragons were still following them, but they did not appear to be causing as big a threat as before.

By the time they reached Dis Atilan, the sky had turned black and some stars shone from between the clouds. As soon as they landed, Tristan rushed to Gwen's side, who was still unconscious and in Laer's arms. Eragon was kneeling on the ground, examining her injuries.

"She is alive, right?" Tristan quickly asked, just as Rikon and Adrian approached him.

_Yes, she is alive. She will wake soon_, Saturn answered in their minds and his muzzle gently touched Gwen's head. When the dragon took a step back, Tristan knelt on the ground. His palm gently caressed Gwen's cheek and then he paused, realising that both Adrian and Saturn were watching him. He cleared his throat and quickly walked to Vertigo's side, keeping his gaze on the ground.

"Riders… I owe you an apology. The wild dragons should have been notified of our arrival and the Eldunari should have made preparations. I have visited Ramirblaka before, but never have the wild dragons behaved in such a manner" he said and he appeared both regretful and perplexed. "Head back to your dorms. Your training will continue as per usual tomorrow"

Eragon walked to Saphira's side, climbed atop her and flew towards Glieonard.

The young riders walked back to their dorms in silence. Maurine had the expression of a terrified doe and Rikon was trying to reassure her that everything would be okay.

Tristan rubbed his hands against Vertigo's scales, absentminded, while he kept stealing glances at Laer's and Gwen's directions. He was glad Gwen was okay, but still he couldn't shake that cold feeling that was seizing his heart.

_I have concluded that I don't like wild dragons_, Vertigo said in a thoughtful tone.

"I don't think that this is their usual behaviour. Something must have happened in order for them to behave in such a manner" Adrian said, approaching them. Tristan wasn't sure he wanted to be near the elf at the moment.

"Do you think it was due to the eggs? Maybe the females were protecting them…" Rikon said, but the twin girls, Maya and May shook their heads in unison.

"It was…"

"Not just"

The females" they said, but still, it did not answer the original question as to why the dragons had been so aggressive towards the riders.

They continued walking along the path, until the elves and urgals parted ways with the rest of the riders. Maurine and Rikon said goodnight as well and then Laer, Gwen, Gas and Tristan reached the human dorm.

Just before they walked inside, Gwen awoke with a startle and looked around her, perplexed. She took tentative steps forward, then her feet wobbled and Laer put a protective arm around her. It felt as if a small dagger pierced Tristan's heart and he tried to look elsewhere, but his eyes stayed locked on the human.

"Saturn?" Gwen asked and as soon as she saw her dragon, she exhaled in happiness. She pressed her arms around the bronze dragon's head and Tristan did not want to interrupt their moment. He headed inside, walking next to Laer. For a reason he could not fathom, he was feeling uncomfortable around the rider, something he did not like. Usually, it was easy conversing with Laer. A growing suspicion had settled in his heart and he did not like it at all.

_Just ask him_, Vertigo said in his mind, but the dragon sounded distant and not his usual care-free, relaxed self.

_I will. Are you okay, Vertigo?,_ Tristan inclined and the dragon moved around the stone structure in an agitated manner.

_Wild dragons appear stronger. And free. They can do whatever they want, whenever they want, without any consequences. _

Tristan looked outside his window to where Vertigo was, his jaw dropping in surprise.

_Do you want to be like them? Is that what it is?,_ he asked.

_No. I am just trying to understand how it would have been like if I grew in the wild. Would I have become the same dragon? Would I be like… Them_?, he asked and his tail swung to the right hand side.

_I think that no matter where you had grown up, you would not have behaved in the same way they did,_ Tristan said and tried to reassure his dragon but Vertigo was lost in his own thoughts.

Tristan sighed loudly and paced inside his room for a while. Sleep did not seem to be coming easily to him tonight. He opened the door of his room and walked across the hall. He gently knocked on the opposite door and waited, but no one answered. He knocked again, but nothing. Tristan opened the door and walked inside the room, only to find it empty. Laer wasn't there. When he went to knock on Gwen's room she wasn't there either.

His previous suspicion grew bigger and his heart twisted as hate and another feeling he did not recognise, rose in the surface. He went back to his bed but he could not go to sleep and when he heard someone walking inside, he instantly got up. Gwen pulled her curly hair back and looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Tristan?" she asked, in surprise, and he nodded.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked her and she nodded to him and smiled.

"Yes. It's just that I was not expecting to be attacked by...dragons" she replied, puzzled. She walked back to her room and said good night. He did the same but again he couldn't sleep. When he heard another person walking inside the human dorms he rushed to the hallway.

Laer jumped slightly when he saw him and raised his eyebrows.

"Why are you up so late?" Tristan asked him in a serious manner.

"I could ask you the same" Laer replied and Tristan pressed his lips together.

"I couldn't fall asleep, you see, and I needed to talk to you" he answered.

Momentarily, Laer appeared troubled and alarmed.

"What is it that you wish to speak of?" the rider asked him.

Since there was no easy way of saying this, Tristan blurted it out.

"Do you have feelings for Gwen?"

Laer's eyes grew large.

"Feelings? I… No!" he said and he stared at Tristan, shocked and bewildered. He took in a loud breath of air. "Trust me when I say that I have no interest in… Human… Females" he added and smiled to him.

Tristan raised both his eyebrows.

"Then where were you tonight?"

"Sleep couldn't come easily to me, either. Not after today's events" Laer said and he sighed. Then he looked at Tristan with a serious expression. "I know you have feelings for Gwen and even if I did harbour some emotions for her I wouldn't jeopardize your situation" he added in a reassuring tone.

Tristan let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.

"You are right, my friend, but I had to know" he said and smiled back to Laer in relief.

The rider nodded.

"I understand" Laer said and then he looked at the dark sky. "Shall we make one more attempt to sleep?"

Tristan laughed and nodded, saying good night and heading back to his room.

…..

It was night time and the riders had not yet returned, something Kayla found peculiar. It did not bother her much though since it gave her time to practise magic.

She had a golden goblet in her hand and at the moment she was trying to practise a spell she had seen many riders do before her.

"_Dramr kopa_" she whispered. The water withered, ripples formed, faces almost appeared and then all too quickly they disappeared.

She sighed exasperated and fell on her bed. It had been more than two months since she had last spoken to her mother! Kayla could always ask Eragon or some of the older riders to help her with the spell, but she wanted to do this alone. She knew Tristan had had contact with their mother, a few weeks ago after the riders had returned from their flying lesson, but she had not been present. Another indirect message from Eragon to persuade her to ride Aiedail.

Kayla picked up the golden goblet again. In front of her, the book of magic spells was open on the page with the spell that would allow her to see and converse with the person she was thinking off.

"_Dramr Kopa_" she repeated, holding the cup more forcefully. The water's surface rippled again and this time it took the face of her mother. Kayla exhaled in relief as she watched her mother's sleeping form. She was in her bed, in their house in Arhan and everything appeared to be normal. She smiled to herself happily, but soon she realised something. Without breaking the spell, she turned her gaze to the book.

"…the spell allows the caster to only see the person they are thinking off but not their surroundings. More experienced magicians can also converse with the person in question…" Kayla read and then stopped.

She shouldn't be allowed to see where her mother was. Not really. She concentrated on the water's surface again and she watched her mother's chest rising and falling, rising and fall-

The water rippled and her mother's form disappeared. Black, intricate markings were spiralling at the edges of the goblet and in the middle, faces she did not recognise, started appearing. Alone, a hooded person stood. The figure was in a stone room, in what appeared to be a tower and was chanting something. Unexpectedly, it paused. It looked around, raising objects and then allowing them to fall.

"I know you are here, somewhere" it whispered and its voice made the hairs on Kayla's arms rise. Her breath started coming out uneven and the figure turned around and faced her. The figure laughed.

"I can see you, you little –" it started saying but then a loud growl sounded from outside the window where the figure was and Kayla saw a gigantic shadow wyrm flying.

Kayla screamed, felt her control on the magic quivering and the golden goblet fell on the ground, black liquid spilling all over the floor. She looked around in her room, alarmed, still feeling the gaze of the creature on her. She was unable to shake the feeling of uneasiness.

Suddenly, she heard a noise from outside and she rushed to her window, her heart beating inside her chest furiously. The whoosh of air from flapping wings greeted her and momentarily she stood there frozen, her heart beat almost stopping, as a memory started rising to the surface. Then, she heard her brother's casual voice and she exhaled in relief, as she realized that it was only the dragon riders.

She quickly wiped the floor from the black liquid and heard the riders entering their rooms. Kayla went back to her bed and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Aiedail's presence however didn't make this possible, as the dragon was restless.

Kayla inhaled deeply trying to shut everything and everyone out of her mind, but Aiedail's emotions started clouding her own.

The dragon was angry, disgusted and close to terrified.

_You should have been there_!, Aiedail suddenly screamed inside Kayla's mind and the girl instinctively covered her ears which, however, did nothing to stop the mental voice.

For a moment, Kayla was stunned. The dragon always wanted to gain access into the girl's mind but usually kept her emotions to herself.

An image was projected to Kayla, one which she was not fast enough to block. In this image, Aiedail was being attacked by a huge brass coloured male, who was demanding access both into her mind and body.

More images came, some showing dragons attacking the riders.

_I… I did not know,_ Kayla whispered, surprised.

_How could you? You have blocked me from your mind, from your thoughts and from your presence! You never fly with me… A dragon and a rider are only as strong as their bond is! I was… Weak_, Aiedail said and let out a pained, angered growl.

Kayla took a few deep breaths. She realised with horror, that she wasn't the only one facing problems. And this feeling of helplessness… She knew that feeling well.

_Did he…? Did the male…?,_ Kayla started asking, but the dragon growled a negative answer.

_Some of the younger dragons and Saphira stopped him on time_, Aiedail said and she scratched her talons on the rocks of her structure. This made a shrieking noise and Kayla had to close her ears in order to block it.

_I am-…,_ Kayla started and then paused. What was she? Sorry? The dragon came close to her window and Kayla was faced with Aiedail's accusing glare.

_You should have been there_, the purple dragon repeated and Kayla felt her heart twisting, as a turmoil of emotions jumped inside her chest, both her own and from the creature facing her.

….

Melor shrieked in pain in what appeared to be the hundredth time.

"Can you not do anything about his situation?" Murtagh demanded.

The dwarf's shoulder was covered in blisters and black smoke often rose from them.

"It's been three weeks already since the attack. Why are his wounds not healing?" Murtagh asked again and his hands turned into fists.

Arya gave him a solemn look.

"This is a type of dark magic the healers and I have not encountered before"

"But you are elves! You know more magic spells than anybody else! You should know what to do!" he said again.

Arya's eyebrows rose.

"With your experience in dark magic, maybe you should have a go at healing him" she said and rose from her sit.

Murtagh went to reply but Thorn stopped him.

_Stop. Arguing won't help solve the situation_, the red dragon said.

_As long as he stops screaming I will be happy_, the rider replied and walked out of the room. They were in a building located at the outskirts of Ellesmira, as the rest of the elves would not allow him entrance to their city.

Surprising.

The other three riders had been summoned to Ilirea because another attack had occurred. He would have gone with them, but he hated having everybody's judgmental glares on his shoulders. He was also dreading to face Nasuada. Last time he had seen her from up close, they had decided to end their affair. She was steadily growing older, he was a dragon rider, she was the queen, the people in Alagaesia despised him… So many reasons to stay away!

Suddenly Arya looked at the skies, perplexed, and then the lake's surface near them, withered and took the shape of Stoic.

"We are outside of Ilirea, Murtagh! The shadow wyrms attacked again but they have riders with them! Ingrid is injured! Send for help, tell Erag-"his voice said but he was cut off.

Murtagh rode on Thorn's back without further due.

"Murtagh!" Arya shouted.

"Tell Eragon to send for reinforcements. I doubt he will listen to me, but you might actually have a chance!" he said as he flew high, losing himself between the clouds and hoping he could make it to Ilirea on time.

_Nasuada_, he thought and Thorn flew faster.

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Don't forget to leave reviews, follow/fav, it will only take a minute! Next chapter will be called: The Red Rider. **


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